Where'd You Go?
by ten81CSI
Summary: If Ryan only knew why she left, he wouldn't still hate her. If she only knew how he felt about her, she'd have stayed. Some things could be better off left alone, until you're forced to let out everything you've been hiding. Ryan/OC. Title from Fort Minor
1. First Day

**A/N:** Enjoyy fellow Ryan lovers! PS this is set in the season 4/5 time period that's why Tessa is younger. Also, I will be adding plot from the actual seasons soon!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own! boo.

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Tessa Owens let out a groan at the sound of her bedroom door opening, and tiny footsteps tiptoeing their way towards her bed, a giggle escaping the little devil's mouth of whom those feet belonged to. She felt tiny hands grip her comforter, and she did her best not to breathe. She didn't want to be woken up quite yet.

"Mommy," a small voice beamed, and the little boy jumped up from the floor onto her bed, landing square on her back.

"Ouch!" Tessa screeched, wincing in pain as her son tugged at her hair.

"Wake up!" the little boy giggled, leaning over her shoulder and kissing her cheek.

"Give me five minutes!" she shouted, her eyes not opening as he jumped up and down on her back.

"Now!" he shouted. "Wake up, Mommy!"

Tessa let out a dramatic sigh, which was inevitably pointless considering her son didn't give two shits about her lack of sleep. "Okay," she mumbled, rolling onto her back, causing him to giggle when he fell on the bed. "Morning," she spoke, her voice unenthusiastic as she rubbed at her eyeballs. "You hungry," she turned towards her son, who was nuzzling into her side, and yawning.

"Yes," he nodded his head. "I want Nana and chocolate 'dip pancakes!

Tessa scrunched her face in protest. "Banana _and_ chocolate chip?" she asked. "Gross!"

"Num!" he giggled. "Nana and chocolate! Nana and chocolate!"

"You are a sick little kid," she laughed, willing herself to sit upright. She set one foot on the floor, and pushed herself upright, sitting on the edge of the bed, letting out a loud yawn. "If Joey goes pee-pee potty, his Mommy will make him Banana and Chocolate chip pancakes," Tessa bribed her son to used the "big boy potty," as she stood up to get ready for work.

Joey Owens climbed out of his mother's bed at the offer she was making and hurried into her bathroom before she could make it in there. "In your potty," she sighed watching him grab his step stool and set it in front of the toilet. "Not Mom's."

"You needa help," he said, tugging at his pajama bottoms, unable to get them below his waist. She let out a sigh, and pulled them down for him before turning to look at herself in the mirror. She was not ready for her first day at work. Not one bit ready.

Being the only female in the homicide department in Fort Lauderdale was something she hadn't been keen to at first. It had taken months to get those guys to warm up to her. To prove she wasn't some girl who thought it was cool to carry a gun and arrest bad people. It had taken her over a year to get them to love and accept her as the only female in their bull-pen.

And she knew that Miami would be the same. People didn't like newcomers. Especially older men when it came to younger women. It had something to do with power. Men liked power. And a girl coming in over-stepped the power boundary line.

Tessa let out a sigh, blinking at her reflection, hoping that her long thick, black Polish/Native American hair would straighten itself. Wrong idea, she realized when she opened her eyes, her wish having not come true. "Guess this aint Disney after all. None of my dreams have come true," she mumbled. She glanced at her baby boy, who jumped from his stool, and stepped right out of his pajama pants and undies, and hurried out of the room clad in just his Cars pajama shirt.

"Freaking A! Brat!" she called after her crazy son. "Get back here nakey boy!"

"Neber!" he giggled, his voice becoming faint as he hurried into his bedroom.

"Better stay in there," she spoke more to herself as she turned to face herself in the mirror. Ever since she'd been a single mother, she resorted to having conversations with herself. It was that or learn baby talk. She had no friends in Fort Lauderdale. The only reason she had moved there was because she had to drop out of college and care for her baby. Not only had it been cheaper to rent a cute little house there, she got a job as a cop. Something to help her with her later goal in life. CSI. That had gone down the drain when she got pregnant, and she'd have to resort to homicide detective. And if she was going to tolerate the men's bullshit, she rather it be in Miami, where the pay was better.

She let out a sigh, and grabbed her brush, hoping Joey would occupy himself until her brother arrived to watch him so she could get ready for her first day at work. Today was going to be a long day. It was only 5:30 in the morning, and she wasn't due for work until 9:00. But she needed to be out of the house by 7:30, in order to avoid traffic and get into Miami by 8:30, and Joey had been waking her up at 5:30 religiously since he could walk. She'd purposely put him in bed around midnight on her days off in hope he would sleep in, but he never failed to be her personal alarm clock, opening her door and sliding into her bed, or jumping onto her back at 5:30.

_**XXXXXXXXX**_

Tessa let out a frustrated groan, slamming on her breaks. Traffic was horrible, as usual. She was glad she left when she did, finally pulling into the MDPD parking lot, climbing out of her black 1990 Honda Civic. Maybe with her new paycheck she could put that damned thing to rest. It was edging on its 200,000-mile marker, and she wasn't sure how much longer it could last. Joey's sippy cup had been spilled numerous times in the back seat, leaving red stains on the floor, and she didn't do anything but add to the mess when her cover-up had slipped from her purse a few months ago and spilled onto her passenger seat.

She locked the door with her key, trying not to be envious of the man who had parked next to her, who had used an actual key clicker. Something Tessa wish she had. Money was something she never had much of.

She let out a deep breath, brushing off her black dress pants, a nervous habit she picked up when she was dreading an event that she couldn't stop. She had decided on flats for the day, knowing that if she got caught in a chase on her first day of work, her new colleagues wouldn't let it down if her heels broke.

She pulled at the door that read MDPD Precinct, and let out a deep breath, glancing around. She was in the lobby, and she wanted to be in the homicide bullpen. She walked towards the tall desk were a security guard sat, trying to explain to a distraught old women she needed to wait in line before she could pay her parking ticket. Tessa gave the woman a sympathetic smile, grabbing the sign in sheet, knowing that since she didn't have a photo ID yet, she'd need to sign in as a guest. She showed the guard her license, and also her gun and badge that were sitting on her hip before her waved her to go back.

She pushed on another door, and took in her surroundings. Nope, just as she had suspected. No females. She bit her lip, unsure of who would be her Field Training Officer. Protocol called for every new member, whether familiar with law enforcement has an FTO for at least 5 days. Even if she knew how to do this job.

"Excuse me?" a bald man, who looked like his toupee had just been blown away by the wind, also wearing a beige suit asked her, his hand meeting with her elbow. "You Detective Owens?"

Tessa nodded her head, her golden brown eyes twinkling with anticipation as she held her hand out for him to shake. "Tessa Owens," she smiled.

"Detective Frank Tripp," Frank said, shaking her hand. "So it's true. Thought the guys were just yankin' my chain."

"What?" Tessa asked.

"That you're a girl."

Tessa let out a snort. "I'm a girl," she laughed. "Least that's what the doctor told my Mom when she had me."

Frank's eyes widened at her remarks. She'd be a good fit to the guys with her mouth, even if she had a nice chest. His cheeks turned a red color realizing his mind had gone into the gutter. "So. Since you're the only one being nice to me," Tessa smiled, brushing back her long silky hair. "I'm assuming you are my FTO."

"Great guess," Frank nodded his head. "We've got a homicide to go to."

"Great," Tessa smiled back. "Let's get to it. Hate it when the CSIs show up before myself."

Frank nodded his head, grabbing his suit jacket from the back of a computer chair. "Let's go then, Detective Owens."

"It's Tessa. Or Owens," she corrected him, following him out of the bullpen.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Tessa sat in the CSI break room as she waited for Frank to finish talking with Horatio Caine, her eyes glued to the young man with shorter hair than she last recalled, and stronger arms. He was wearing a white lab coat, his hazel eyes fixated on a piece of evidence. Never did she expect to see him again. Ever. He had been a college student at Boston College. She never expected him to leave Boston. It's where he grew up. Yet there he was, in Miami. In the lab that she'd probably visit on a daily basis. She could only avoid them for so long.

A quiet, but loud enough cough caused her to shake her head and fixate her eyes on a tiny blonde woman sporting a cheery smile. "You must be the new homicide detective Frank was talking about," she smiled, holding her hand out for the stranger to shake, "Calleigh Duquesne, CSI. Ballistics is my specialty."

"Tessa Owens," she smiled. "Good to meet ya. Wasn't sure if I'd be working with any girls. I gotta admit. I'm relieved a bit now," she laughed nervously.

"It's tough tagging along with the guys," Calleigh smiled.

"Yeah," Tessa agreed. "I'm used to it. Doesn't mean I like it though. The guys in Fort Lauderdale welcomed me with slightly more open arms then here. I know they're wanting' to know why in the heck Stetler would hire a girl to do their job."

"And a young one at that," Calleigh smiled. "How did you get to being a homicide at 26?"

"Well. When you're on patrol and you get shot, 9 times outta 10 they never put you back in the uniform. I basically got my pick of the bunch."

"Oh wow. That's really a shame," Calleigh spoke, her eyes widening in sympathy and shock for Tess.

"Eh," Tess shrugged it off. "I'm alive right? And I've got a pretty hot battle wound to show off."

"Where?" Calleigh asked.

Tess brushed the red v-neck t-shirt she was wearing off her left shoulder, revealing a ragged pink line. "Scariest moment in my life," she laughed. _Right next to knowing you're gonna be a young single mother, _she thought. "Say," Tess nodded her head towards the CSI she'd noticed earlier, trying to change the subject. "That guy over there? Who's he?"

Calleigh turned around and glanced through the glass walls to see who Tessa was talking about. "That. Is Ryan Wolfe."

"I knew it," Tess mumbled under her breath, and then shook her head. "Thanks. Well it was nice to meet you. I should go. Frank is heading this way."

"Bye," Calleigh smiled, waving to Tessa who hurried out of the break room.

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Whadd'ya think? Lemme know by clickling that little bubble. Tee-hee. More Ryan to come!


	2. Just Don't Sleep with Her

**A/N: So I am sloowwllyyy bringing in Erica Sikes. And I am slowly opening up Tessa's past. I hope you all enjoyy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I wish. **

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"Shit stains!"

"What?"

"I broke it!"

"Joey Owens!" Tessa shouted. "Don't you ever say that word or phrase again!"

Joey looked up from his broken crayon, tears threatening to escape his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "Uncle Dan said it on the phone."

"Quick to throw me under the bus," Dan Owens laughed, hurrying into the kitchen when he heard his baby sister yell. He ran his fist through his nephew's black hair, and pressed a kiss to the top of his head, before walking towards the kitchen counter where Tessa stood cooking grilled cheeses for her two favorite men. "How is work so far, baby girl?"

Tessa shrugged. "Don't you change the subject, Daniel Owens. If my kid ever says another curse word I'll punch you in your gut." Dan let out a laugh, and grabbed his stomach when his baby sister held her fist up in threat. "I meant it Dan," she warned, turning back to the sizzling sandwiches. "He's almost four years old. He doesn't need to be repeating curses." She pathetically jabbed at the grilled cheese, and bit her bottom lip, an indication to her brother that something important was bothering her. Something bigger than hearing her son say 'shit stains.'

"Tessie," Dan sighed. "Why you look like you wanna kill that grilled cheese?"

"No reason," she shrugged, licking her lips, and flipping the sandwich. "Baby, you want apple juice or water?"

"Apple juice," Joey called over his shoulder, closing his coloring book and setting it to the side. He folded his hands and set them on the wooden table, waiting patiently for his grilled cheese, tomato soup and potato chips.

"Okay," Tessa nodded her head, setting Joey's grilled cheese in front of him. "Kisses," she smiled, pressing kisses to his cheek. "Mommy's gotta go."

"Bye," he giggled, handing her a drawing. "Will you put this on your desk like at your old work?"

Tessa grabbed the drawing and smiled at the stick figures. One super tall with a buzz cut and muscles on his arms, that she knew was her brother, another short stick for herself, and a tiny one with green eyes. "I don't know how to make hazel," Joey said. "That's what my eyes are, right? Hazel?"

"Yeah," Tessa laughed. "Hazel. Brown with a splash of green," she said, giving him another kiss. "I'll put right next to my computer," she smiled. "Thank you baby. Who is this?" she asked, pointing to a green dog.

"I want a doggy for my birthday."

"Okay," Tessa smiled. "I gotta go baby. I love you."

"Bye," Joey smiled, biting into his grilled cheese.

"See yah baby girl," Dan called as Tessa hurried out of the house, already running late for work.

_**XXXXXXXXX**_

He let out a loud yawn at the sound of his cell phone buzzing against his nightstand. He reached for the phone, and grabbed it, ignoring the woman beside him who turned in her sleep. He wasn't sure what had gone through his mind when he agreed to sleep with Erica Sikes. God, did it kill him to be lonely. He'd do anything to be with someone. He'd been picky with the girls he allowed into his personal life ever since his junior year of college when Tessa Owens left him hanging dry. He'd fallen quickly for the slightly short, petite girl with the thick, but silky hair, golden brown eyes that you either got lost in, or were scares of when she got pissed. He could run his hands over her heart-shaped tiny face for hours, learning every curve. And then she left. No good bye, no warning, no excuse. She just left.

Girls were bitches. Since he'd witnessed how risking your feelings for a girl could rip your heart out, he realized he didn't need a Mrs. Right. Just a Miss Right Now. And if Erica was willing to sleep with him because she thought there was a small chance he'd accidentally leak info to her, he'd sleep with her.

"What's that noise!" She groaned, rolling from her back to her stomach and burying her head into his pillow, clutching her hands over her ears in an attempt to drown out the noise.

"You gotta go," Ryan mumbled, running his right hand over his face, his left holding his cell phone.

"Why?"

"Because I need to get ready for work," he sighed, sitting up, locking his phone. He knew as soon as he left the room she'd try and read his messages. "I'm getting in the shower," he whispered, leaning over her. "You better be gone when I get out."

"I think I can manage that," she giggled, biting her lip nervously when his lips met with her cheek. "I'll see you tonight then?"

"Yeah," Ryan sighed, kissing her lips with an open mouth, his body weight leaning on his elbow. "Sure. Tonight," he said, continuing to kiss her. He pulled away from her when he heard her let out a load moan. She was enjoying it too much. Much more than he was. "You gotta go now," he whispered, standing up, taking the sheet with him. He leaned down and picked up his boxers, sliding them on before dropping the sheet back on the bed, and hurried towards the bathroom, cursing himself for making the mistakes he had last night. If the team knew he slept with Erica, they'd probably never talk to him again.

_**XXXXXXXXXXX**_

"Assholes!" Tessa shouted after sitting down in her computer chair. She'd been receiving rookie pranks since she started at Miami about a week ago. They never ended. And she had laughed the first few times, but now it was getting annoying. She'd have her revenge.

She'd been at work a total of 6 days, and she managed to avoid Ryan each time, a win in her book. She knew the second she laid eyes on him, she'd give in to his warm smile, his freshly attired arm muscles, that cute short hair cut, and of course those sparkling hazel eyes. Those eyes would lose her. She should know. Joey made her melt every time he puckered out his lower lip and forced a tear to spring from his mist of brown mixed with some green.

She shook her head at the thought, and was about to shut her computer off for the day when her pager beep. "Ughh," she groaned. Being the rookie sucked. She got all the late calls now. Not cool. Not cool one bit. She logged back into her computer, grabbed her gray blazer, buttoned the middle button, and tucked in her black shirt. She grabbed her cell phone to call her brother, setting it between her shoulder and ear as she attached her gun to her hip.

_**XXXXXXXXX**_

She watched as Eric Delko and Horatio Caine crawled under the crime scene tape, trying to dodge Erica Sikes and her microphone. "Damn, she doesn't stop," Tessa rolled her eyes as Eric approached. "We got one Alfredo Portabella. 33 years old. Single father. 3 little girls," Tessa shook her head and bit her lip. "You guys better find this sonuvva bitch," she said, clenching her fists. "They're the worst. Poor kids." She blinked back a tear, shaking her head, unable to bear the thought of leaving Joey in this world.

"Nobody heard anything," she cleared her throat, trying to inform Eric and H of everything she could. "Alexx should be hear any minute. But I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to see the bullet hole in his chest." She turned to face a dumpster. "Betting that's where the gun was dropped. I'm not climbing in there to find out though, Delko."

Tessa saw another Hummer pull up, and didn't want to chance it being Ryan. "You clear?" she asked. "I got a date…" A simple lie she told so she could get home to her son.

"We're good, Miss Owens," Horatio slowly spoke, glancing at the body, his body slightly slouched.

"Great, thanks Lou," she smiled calling Horatio by the nickname she'd given him the first day she met him. She hurried under the crime scene tape, ignoring Erica Sikes, shoving the microphone that was shoved in her face as she hurried to her Honda. Normally she drove over in a Hummer as well. But seeing as she was going straight from the scene to home, she drove her car.

Ryan Wolfe turned to see a short tan girl with long dark hair hurry towards her car. She had her hair hiding her face. He approached the scene. "Who's that?" he asked, setting his kit besides the body.

"New homicide detective," Eric explained. "Tessa Owens. Cute little fireball. Almost bit Erica Sikes head off about fifteen minutes ago. Just missed her."

Ryan slowly nodded his head, unable to comprehend. He hadn't heard from Tessa Owens in years, and they'd probably been in the same state this whole time. His stomach slowly turned at the thought of having to work with someone he loathed. Someone he hoped he would never have to see again.

"Ryan," Erica's voiced caused him to shake from his thoughts. He turned to face Erica leaning over the yellow tape to get his attention.

Ryan let out a sigh, and walked towards her, folding his arms over his green t-shirt, and raising his eyebrows, his head tilting to the side. "Yes?"

"What have we got here?" She asked, biting her lip. "I heard Tess. A single father?"

"Erica, you need to leave," Ryan spoke sternly. "Come on. Have some respect for this poor guy. He just left behind three little girls."

"Really?" she grinned.

"Yes really. Go."

"Fine," she sighed, waving her arms in surrender. "I'll see you tonight though."

"Sure," he nodded his head. He turned towards Eric, who was staring at him. "What?" Ryan asked defensively.

"What's tonight?" Eric asked.

Ryan shrugged, and grabbed his camera.

"Did you sleep with her?" Eric asked.

"What? No," Ryan coughed.

"Yes!" Eric laughed, shaking his head. "Dude I swear if you're leaking shit to her again…" Eric warned Ryan.

Ryan shook his head. "No, I'm not. She thinks I will, but…you know? If I like a girl what does it matter if she is a news reporter?"

"It just does," Eric shrugged. "Because she's a bitch."

"You think I don't know that? 'Cause I do. But get over it. There's no rule that says I can't date her."

"Whatever," Eric rolled his eyes. "She's still a bitch."

Ryan ignored him, and grabbed his gloves so he could begin processing the scene. He didn't care what Eric thought. His personal life was just that. It wasn't Eric or anyone else's business.

_**XXXXXXXXXXX**_

"Tessie?"

She turned around from the evidence Eric was showing her, facing a very shocked Ryan Wolfe. She was dreading this moment. And she wanted to play it off as if she didn't know him. Maybe that could work. Maybe if he thought she didn't remember he'd let it go and pretend like nothing happened.

"Tessa. That's me. Nice to meet you," she smiled, sticking her hand out for Ryan to shake, hoping he'd fall for her act. Of course she knew him. Of course she remembered the six dates they had, the late night studying, the horrible flirting he'd put on her, of course she remembered the one time they actually had sex. The reason she had her son.

"You don't…" Ryan started, shaking his head. "You don't remember me? It's Ryan. Ryan Wolfe. We went to college together. I sat behind you junior year in Forensics."

Tess cursed internally. Of course he wouldn't just let it go. Of course not. When would Ryan Wolfe ever let anything go? "Oh," she smiled, nodding her head. "Ryan. Right. I remember…I just almost didn't recognize you. With your haircut," she giggled, recalling the long wavy surfer hair he had in college. The shorter hair suited him, and he didn't wear those ugly band shirts anymore. He was dressed in dark jeans, a light green t-shirt and a black fitted blazer over his shirt.

"Yeah," Ryan laughed, nodding his head as he slightly scratched his left eyebrow. He never used to do that when he got nervous. It was a newly developed habit, she realized.

"You put on a few pounds too," she said noticing the small but forming muscles developing on his arms underneath his shirt. If only she had met him this way, and not as the obnoxiously smart know it all, OCD crazy kid who was too nervous to speak around a girl. He was confident, smarter, and cuter now.

"You look great too," he promised. Since he last saw her, her face had become a bit tanner, though she was never pale, being Native American. She had also grown out her silky black hair from the shoulder length it'd been when he first met her, now closer to her mid-back.

"Thanks," she blushed, turning back to Eric, her heart sinking. She couldn't look at him without wanting to cry. Memories she had forced out of her head were coming back.

"No CSI work?" he asked her. "I thought you wanted to be a criminalist, not a homicide detective."

Tessa shrugged. "Dropped outta school," _to raise your son_, she thought. "Had enough credits to become a cop. Besides. I like my job. I get paid to arrest the bad guy that you find for me. But anyway," she spoke, turning towards Eric. "You had something for me?"

"Right," Eric nodded his head relieved Ryan was done talking to Tessa. Ryan had Erica. The least he could do was let him bust his moves on Tessa. It was only fair. "I found a flower petal on the vic's clothing. He didn't have a girlfriend though."

"The girls' mother," Tessa nodded her head. "She works at a flower shop."

"You wanna bring her in for us?" Ryan asked.

"Of course," Tessa smiled. "Which one of you gentlemen would like to accompany me?"

Ryan shrugged. "I will."

_Great,_ Tessa thought, though she smiled. "Sweet. Let's go then."

"Okay," Ryan nodded his head, following her out of the lab, leaving a disgruntled Eric.

_**XXXXXXXXXXX**_

Silence. The Hummer was filled with silence as Tessa drove through Miami to pick up the mother of the girls. Ryan didn't know what to say. He never expected to see her again. "I'm sorry," Tessa finally spoke.

"For what?" Ryan coughed, folding his arms and shifting his weight towards the window, clearly not expecting an apology.

Tessa let out a sigh. "My dad was real sick," she whispered. "So I just…school got hard for me. It was just easier to drop out. Start over." Some of what she was speaking was truth, and some wasn't so much. She couldn't tell Ryan he had a son. She couldn't tell him about the day she found out she was pregnant.

"I thought I loved you, Tessie," Ryan growled. "And you just left. Before I could even tell you."

Tessa choked back her tears, shaking her head so her hair would fall in her face so he wouldn't see how those words just affected her. "Look. I'm sorry, alright." She came to a halt on the side of the road and put her Hummer in park before turning it off and climbing out, a news van parked in front of the flower shop. "Are you kidding me!" she shouted when she saw Erica standing in front of the flower shop. "Erica," she spoke loudly enough to cause Erica to let out a sigh. Tessa had just interrupted her story line and she'd have to start all over.

"Tess."

"What did I tell you? Stay away form this case. Stay away from me."

"Hey," Erica smiled at Ryan, ignoring Tessa.

"Erica, get. Before I arrest you," Tessa rolled her eyes.

"Fine," Erica growled, grabbing her microphone and waving for her cameraman to follow her.

"You know her?" Ryan asked opening the door to the tiny flower shop.

"Know her?" Tessa snorted, following him. "I grew up with her in Fort Lauderdale. We used to be close, and then she got into the whole media shit. And I told her I wasn't dealing with her drama and constant need for attention. So she left and I guess she's been bothering you guys since? She seemed to know you."

Ryan cleared his throat, unsure how to answer the question. "Yeah. Yeah I know her," he nodded his head. "She's been tryin' to get some info from me."

"Ugh," Tessa groaned. "Don't sleep with her. She'll plant a bug in your house. She's that desperate."

"Oh," Ryan spoke, realizing Erica had just played him as much as he played her. He was in trouble


	3. Burn Me to Hell

**A/N: Chapter 3 wooo! HAven't gotten as muxh reviews as I'd hoped for,but maybe that'll change with my evil plot! muahahahah. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own.**

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Eric sat across from Tessa in the break room, a smile on his face. "Hey," he grinned, trying to get her to look at him, instead of watching Ryan with Erica Sikes in the hall. He watched her shake her head and turn to smile.

"Hey," she replied, tucking her hair behind her left ear. "What's up?"

"I was wondering…you free after work tonight?"

Tessa thought for a second. Dan had her brother for the night, she remembered. They were getting up early in the morning to go to a baseball game for his birthday. But did she really want to spend her free time with Eric? "I may be," she nodded. "Just gotta double check with my friend."

"She can come," Eric smiled. "A couple of us are going out for some drinks."

"Okay," Tessa smiled. "I'll let you know," she spoke, her eyes traveling back to Erica and Ryan.

"You know they're sleeping together, right?" Eric asked when he realized her attention was back on them once again.

Tessa's eyes widened, her head turning back to Eric. "No they aren't."

"They are," Eric nodded his head. "I mean I don't think they're serious but."

Tessa nodded her head. "He's retarded. She's just using him to get something from him so she can run a story. Like she did in Fort Lauderdale. She is gross. She had sex with my brother. Ehw. To try and get him to tell her about a case I worked. He didn't even know about it. She's so gross. She knew he had a crush on her in high school." Tessa bit her lip and then smiled at Eric. "I think my friend told me she's busy tonight," she told him. "So I'm free now. You wanna grab some dinner before we get drinks with everyone?"

Eric smiled, nodding his head, sat up a bit straighter in confidence, and opened his mouth to speak. "That sounds great," he nodded his head. "Really good."

"Okay," she nodded her head, giving him a smile. He recognized it as the same smile she gave Ryan every time he entered the room. Maybe he could get her to like him. She stood up and gave him a smile. "Lemme go get my things from the bull pen. I'll meet you outside?"

"Yeah," Eric smiled, standing up as well. "I'll walk with yah to the elevator. I've gotta clock out also. Any place special you wanna go?"

"Nah," Tessa shrugged. "I don't live in Miami. So whatever you think is good."

"Well. What kind of food would you like?"

"Seafood, maybe?" she suggested. "Do you like seafood?"

"Love it. Seafood it is," Eric smiled, winking at Ryan when they walked by him.

_**XXXXXXXXX**_

Eric waited for Tessa to slide into her side of the booth before sliding into his, a smile on his face. She had managed to pull half of her hair back into a loose braid and took off the navy blue suit jacket she'd been wearing, now dressed in the navy blue pinstripe pants, a red dressy wife beater tucked into her pants, navy blue peek-a-boo heels with fiery red toe nails. She looked good.

He watched her grab the menu and flip it open, setting her purse besides her. "What's good?" she asked him.

"Everything," he chuckled. "You like crab, shrimp? What do you like?"

"All of it," she admitted. "I think I'm leaning more toward the crab though." She hadn't had a chance to eat seafood in years, as Joey was always stealing what she picked at, and she was glad she could have a decent meal without her little rascal stealing food. That wasn't to say she didn't miss it. The more he ate, the less she did, meaning the less weight she'd put on.

She smiled respectfully when the waiter came back to ask what they wanted to drink, both ordering beer, and then turned back to the menu. "You like clams?"

"Yeah," Eric nodded his head. "You wanna order some for an appetizer."

"You read my mind, dude," she laughed, nodding her head. She noticed a basket in the center of the table filled with crayons and glanced at the tablecloth, which wasn't really a tablecloth, but a large sheet of paper. Oh Joey would love this, she thought, grabbing a green crayon.

"Wanna play a game?" she asked him, drawing her name in bubble letters. She grabbed another crayon to color in the letters.

"Sure," Eric shrugged. "Hangman?"

"That's what I was thinking," she nodded her head. "I love places like these. Great for little kids, or immature people like myself," she laughed.

"You want kids one day?" Eric asked her, grabbing a blue crayon to draw blanks for the word he was thinking of.

Tessa nodded her head. "I love kids," she admitted, trying to avoid a direct answer.

"Me too," Eric nodded. "So you and Ryan knew each other?"

"Yeah," Tessa nodded her head, turning towards her phone when she felt it vibrate. She grabbed her purse and pulled it out. "Homicide," she said, reading the text message Rick Stetler had sent her. "You might as well come. I'm gonna wind up calling you anyway."

"Alright," Eric nodded his head, putting down a ten for their drinks, giving the waitress a seven-dollar tip for the inconvenience.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

Eric watched Tessa and a patrol officer post the yellow crime scene tape around the alleyway where a badly burned body lay. She approached Eric who was kneeling besides the body. "Did yah check his wallet?" she asked, looking at the victim.

"I did," Eric nodded his head. "Alejandro Garcia. 32."

"Alejandro Garcia?" Tessa asked, squinting at the body. She knew an Alejandro. "He's a missing persons I worked with in Fort Lauderdale. My first one to be exact. I wonder if it's him."

"Alexx will be able to tell us that," Eric nodded his head.

Tessa nodded her head. "I'll ask around. See if anyone saw anything when Lou or Calleigh get here. Don't wanna leave you alone."

"I'll be fine," Eric promised.

Tessa turned around, glancing at the dark street ahead of her. "Okay. I'm scared of the dark," she whispered, making sure the patrol officer wasn't around to over hear her. "_Really_ scared. Why do you think I'm on the day shift?"

Eric gave her a small smile and stood up, setting the strap of the camera around his arm. "Need me to walk you to the end of the alley?" he mocked.

"Shut up," she giggled, bumping him with her hip, a load obnoxious cough coming from behind them. They both turned to see Ryan standing in front of them, his kit on the ground besides him. "Hi Ryan," she whispered, giving him a smile.

"Tessie," he nodded his head, still unable to call her Tessa. "Eric. What've we got?"

"Alejandro Garcia," Tessa informed Ryan. "If he's the guy that I think he is…he's got a wife. A little boy," she shook her head. "I guess I should get his dental records for Alexx. I'm gonna ask around I guess," she sighed.

"Flashlight in my kit for you," Ryan smirked, causing her to stick her tongue out at him.

She walked down the alleyway and glanced around for any indication he could have come from somewhere else, her head looking up at the pink flashing light. "Of course," she mumbled looking at the strip club standing in front of her. The pink letters flashing just so happened to spell out "Club Seal," and had a picture of a Seal, a club over his right shoulder, and a flashing naked girl sign.

She let out a sigh, but crossed the street towards the strip club, and using the sleeve on her blazer to open the door, she stepped in. "Ehw," she shivered at the smell of cheap perfume. It wouldn't be as disgusting to her if these girls weren't gross. And cheap. And the guys that were there were pigs, she decided, looking at one drunken fellow who just looked like he was a woman beater. She turned to see a bouncer, missing two of his teeth. "You know this man?" she asked, showing him Alejandro's license.

"Yeah," the man nodded his head. "Kicked him out for gropin' on one of my girls two nights ago. Keeps tryin' to come back in. Guy's a sleaze ball."

"Oh? Not like these other gentlemen here?" she asked waving her arms around.

"Look lady. I don't question what turns these guys on, I just protect the girls."

"From what? STDs? That guy with the black jacket, and backwards Dolphins cap is HIV positive and he's about to pay your girl in the pink for sex. Hope they use a condom."

"How do you know?"

"I'm smart," she shrugged, watching the man cough. He wiped sweat nervously from his forehead. He was a sickly man, she knew by the looks of him he had a sickly immune system. He ether had cancer or AIDs, and her bet was on the latter based on where she was. "Listen. If you ever decide you wanna tell me what Mr. Garcia was doing here, here's my card." She handed him her business car and then headed out of the strip club, and back towards the crime scene.

_**XXXXXXXXXXX**_

H stood, standing over the body, looking up when he heard Tessa's heels clanking towards him. Like she needed them. She was a good 5'7 without the heels, and with them she was probably 5'10, towering over Ryan Wolfe as she came to a halt besides the shorty.

"Miss Owens," H spoke wisely. "You knew the victim?"

"Not him. His family," she nodded her head.

"Okay. Could I have a word with you?"

"Of course," she spoke, following him towards his Hummer. When he stopped besides it, so did she. "What's up, Lou?"

H looked behind her shoulder at Eric and Ryan who seemed to be arguing over something. "Your son?" Horatio asked, turning to her. He knew, only because her boss had informed him after Horatio complained Tessa had left a scene on more than one occasion without a good reasoning.

Tessa let out a deep breath, and looked towards the cement under her feet. "What about him?"

"Does he have a father in the picture?"

"No, Lou," Tessa shook her head. "It's just me."

"Does the father happen to be Mr. Wolfe, Miss Owens?"

Tessa let out a deep breath. "Yes, Lou. It's Ryan. He doesn't know, H."

Horatio slowly nodded his head. "Your secret is safe with me, Miss Owens. That doesn't mean I support it. Ryan deserves to know the truth."

She nodded her head as well, but stood alone as Horatio walked away. She knew he was right. But she also knew she didn't have the balls to tell Ryan she'd been lying to him for four years. Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, her hand immediately reaching inside for her phone, a smile creeping across her face when she saw her house number.

"Hey baby," she spoke.

"Hi Mommy. Uncle Dan said I should call you and say night sine you are running late and you can't come over to say good night. He said you aren't getting home for a long time."

"Yeah, Hun. I won't be home for a while. You go night night, and I'll pick you up from Uncle Dan's tomorrow after your baseball game, okay?"

"Promise, Mommy?" Joey whispered on the other line.

"Promise Joey. I love you. Good night sleep tight baby." She tried not to give in when she heard her son let out sad sigh, and hang up the phone.

"Alejandro?" a female's voice cried. "Alex!" Tessa turned around to see the dark haired woman she'd met two years ago, frantically trying to look over Tripp's shoulder to see if the body lying in the alley was her husband's. "Alejandro," she cried, her hand clasping to her mouth when she saw the man lying on the ground.

"Mrs. Garcia," Tessa whispered, approaching Tripp and the woman. "How long has Alejandro been home?"

"Officer Owens?" Mrs. Garcia whispered. "Officer Owens! Please tell me that isn't Alex. Please, Officer Owens."

"Mrs. Garcia. Let's just focus on my questions for right now, alright?"

Mrs. Garcia slowly nodded her head. "A few months. We moved her when he came back. He said he'd been kidnapped. And he said we should move to Miami. So we did, Officer Owens. Please. Tell me that isn't him. Please."

"Where did he go tonight?" Tessa asked, ignoring Mrs. Garcia's question. "Where does he usually hang out?"

"We got into a fight," Mrs. Garcia whispered. "He comes here when we fight. I think he is having an affair with one of the girls. Officer Owens. Please tell me that wasn't him."

Tessa let out a deep breath. "We don't know yet, Mrs. Garcia."

"You'll let me know?"

"I will let you know," Tessa whispered. She watched Mrs. Garcia slowly stand up and walk away. She stood up herself and smiled when she saw Eric walk towards her.

"You look beat. Why don't you go home and get some rest?" Eric asked. "We'll pick this up tomorrow."

Tessa shook her head. "This was my first case ever. We need to close this one."

"Fine," Eric nodded his head in understanding. "I understand but H told us all to go home and pick this up in the morning."

"Fine," Tessa sighed.

"We'll get whoever did this, Tessa," Eric promised. "In the morning when we all have fresh brains."

Tessa let out a loud sigh. "Fine," she rolled her eyes. "I'll see you bright and early then."

"Yes you will," Eric grinned, giving her a wink as she walked away.

"First you get with Natalia man, now you're flirting with Tessa?" Ryan asked, approaching Eric, his arms folding across his chest. "Stay away from Tessie, got it?"

"Tessie?" Eric asked, raising his eyebrow, and letting out a laugh at Ryan's jealousy. "Dude. Get over yourself. Tessa isn't gonna go back to you. She obviously left you for a reason. Why don't you stick to that Erica girl? You know, the one you've been leaking info to."

"Back off her," Ryan demanded one last time before he walked away. Eric shook his head a pathetic laugh escaping his mouth. There was no way in hell he'd just give up that easily just because Ryan asked him.

_**XXXXXXXXX**_

"Ryan," she breathed, leaning against her front door at the sight of Ryan standing before her in dark jeans, a red t-shirt and a black fitted blazer. He'd just had a hair cut, she could tell by the fresh look. Her breaths began to even out when she realized Joey was out for the day. There'd be no way he could slip between her legs to introduce himself to his Mommy's guest.

"Hey," Ryan smiled. "You busy?"

"Just…no. I was just on the phone with H about Alejandro," she breathed, biting her lip. "You wanna come in or something? Why did you drive all the way out here?"

"I was dropping my kid off for the big brothers big sisters charity. He lives in Fort Lauderdale. Over in Kingsway."

"Oh," Tessa nodded her head. "That's the bad neighborhood right next to me," she spoke, opening the door. "None of our neighbors let their kids walk over there. Even if they got the pool. You can come in if yah want."

She immediately regretted the words that came out of her mouth when she realized Joey's shoes were lying by the door. Maybe he wouldn't notice. Maybe the OCD in him would be too overwhelmed by the mess in her living room he'd forget about the folded boy's clothes lying by the steps and the pile of toys in the living room. Who was she kidding? Ryan Wolfe would notice.

"On second thought," she shook her head. "I'm hungry. You wanna go out to eat?"

"Ugh sure," Ryan shrugged watching Tessa slam the front door shut, and hurry towards the steps. She grabbed anything indicating Joey and hurried up the steps. When she came down she let out a sigh and opened the door.

"Sorry about that. I just had to straighten up a tiny bit. I know you hate messes." She stepped aside and allowed him to come in, his eyes scanning the home. "How'd you even find my place anyway?"

"I'm a curious cop, Tessie. And I wanted to know where the girl I fell in love with lived."

Tessa blushed a bit as he stepped in front of her, and lightly brushed his knuckles against her right cheek. "Yeah? That why you're sleeping with Erica?"

"Who told you that?"

"I saw you two flirting by the elevator yesterday, Ryan. Don't play stupid. You're dating her after I warned you not to."

"Oh you mean like how you went on a date with Eric?"

"That wasn't a date," Tessa rolled her eyes. "Eric was hungry and so was I. We went out to eat that's all. Like you and I are about to do. As friends."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"Yeah, whatever," she giggled, walking out of the house, Ryan following.

_**XXXXXXXXXXX**_

The silent beep of her pager had awoken her, another burn victim, same M.O. Someone was messing with them. The only reason they'd been paged during the nightshift was because of the similarities to the death of Alejandro Garcia. As she stood over the body, his info in her hand, she rattled off the basics to Ryan and Calleigh. Jackson Vader. Male, 42, married with three kids. And Ryan had shown shock. His eyes had widened, he had dropped his kit on the ground and ran his hands over his face. He knew him.

"Ry?" Tessa whispered.

"Tess," Ryan breathed. "That's the first guy I ever arrested in Miami."

"Well…" she breathed, turning to Calleigh, whose eyes widened as well. Someone was targeting the team. "Okay. So this guy is burning the first people we've worked with. Maybe. Maybe it's someone we know."

"I'll run the names through KODIS when we get back. Maybe they have a person in common."

"Who'd be next?" Tessa asked. "Should I look up everyone's first cases?"

"Yeah," Calleigh nodded her head, opening her kit. They had a long night ahead of them, and she wanted to get a lead before the sun rose.


	4. Stepping Forward

**Disclaimer: I do not own. **

**A/N: I changed some of it, but Caution. This has spoilers to season 4. Nailed.**

* * *

Tessa sat at the high top table outside of the Miami restaurant, her best friend Courtney Downs sitting across from her, opening her menu as she tucked her blonde hair behind her ears. "So. You were saying something about Joey when we were so rudely interrupted by the hostess?" Courtney spoke, looking back up at Tessa.

"Okay. Well remember when I first got pregnant and I told you that I knew who his Dad was but I didn't wanna tell the baby daddy. And I lied to Dan, and my mom and Zach and said that he left me?"

"Yeah," Courtney nodded her head letting out a giggle. She wasn't quite sure what this had to do with work, the previous question Courtney had asked had been. "How's you're new job treating you?" And Tessa had answered with "I need to talk to you about that. And Joey."

"Well I did that because I thought the guy would stay in Boston. Apparently after he graduated he came to Miami. And. I. Work. With. Him."

"What!" Courtney's blue eyes widened at Tessa's statement. "Holy Fuck. Did you tell him?"

"No!" Tessa shrieked. "Should I?" she asked, smiling as the waitress brought them each a bottle of Corona. She took a sip from the bottle, and let out a burp causing Courtney to giggle.

"Yeah. I mean he has a right to know he's a father Tessie. It aint like you're still kids. And I mean obviously he has a decent job. But I mean you don't just say hey by the way I've lied to you for four fucking years. Congratulations you've gotta boy!"

"So what do I do?"

"Ask him out for lunch," Courtney shrugged. "Say you wanna catch up. And kind of ease him in. You know. Ask him if he's got a girl. If he's looking. Maybe he'll bring up wanting kids?"

Tessa slowly nodded her head. "You're a good best friend."

"I know that, Love," Courtney smiled, blowing her a kiss. "You can thank me later," she winked. "Now. I wanna eat and talk about Joey's birthday party!"

"I'm going to the animal shelter tonight," Tessa smiled. "He's gonna be so excited!"

"I know. He's only wanted a dog since before he could even walk."

"Yeah," Tessa laughed, nodding her head in agreement.

* * *

_"…Happy birthday to Joey! Happy birthday to you!"_ a group of adults and children sang in Tessa's backyard, Joey a bit confused why his mom hadn't been here while he blew out his candles. He let out a giggle when Dan cut a piece of cake and stuck it into his nephew's face. His head tilting back, laughs escaping as he rubbed his belly.

"Hey little man," Tessa called, the puppy in her arms as she opened the screen door. She kicked it shut with her foot, and headed towards Joey who was still giggling, covered in his Cars birthday cake.

"Mommy," he gasped. "Uncle Dan just caked me!"

"Oh," Tessa started. "I think I got something to get that off," she giggled, pressing the puppy against Joey's face. His mouth formed in an "O" shape at the feel of a tongue licking icing off his cheek.

He jumped back, his eyes widening. "Oh a puppy! Mommy you bought me a puppy for my fourth birthday! It's what I've always wanted!"

Tessa let out a giggle. "You're so cute, baby," she told Joey, rubbing her fingers through his hair as he grabbed the puppy from her arms.

"Is it a boy!"

"Yes."

"Can I name him whateber I want, Mommy?"

"You can name him whatever you want," Tessa promised.

"I'm gonna name him Rex! Thank you so much Mommy!"

* * *

Tessa's face turned bright red with fear, hurt and anger as she looked at the young boy covered in his blanket in the pile of ash. His tree house had been burned down, the ripped blanket preserving his face. He looked like her son. Dark hair, olive colored skin, greenish-brown hazel eyes, and a small figure. She wanted to vomit at the sight in front of her as Alexx examined the boy.

Ryan approached them, his silver kit in hand. "What the hell. When is this guy gonna stop?"

"Whenever we find him," Tessa growled, her fists clenching. "He just killed an innocent baby. He's pissed me off." She bit her bottom lip, letting out a pathetic sigh as she shook her head.

"We all know not to piss Tessa off," Alexx chuckled, rolling the little boy onto his back. "She's one angry Momma."

"What's that?" Tessa asked, her eyes squinting at the sight of something shiny on the boy's back. She watched Alexx pry it from his skin as it was melted to his back.

"It's a Boy Scout pin, baby," Alexx explained.

"Why would this guy want to kill this boy?" Ryan asked, turning his head towards Tessa, who was fighting back tears. "I mean I thought he was targeting the team. What's this got to do with the team?"

"Ugh…" Tessa started. "I don't know. But we're gonna find out. Because he's not getting away with this again. I'll make damned sure of that." She bit her lip again, staring at Ryan. "Wait. Why are you here? I thought this was Eric's shift? I paged him like 8 times."

"Well after the third, Stetler pages the on call," Ryan cleared his throat, folding his arms over his chest and shifting his body weight from on foot to the other. "That'd be me. Ryan Wolfe his 8 straight day of work. I've filled in for Eric twice already."

"What the hell," Tessa growled. "Well. I guess it's you and me," she coughed. "You wanna give me a ride back to the bull pen when you're done here? I actually took a cab. Dedication, I know."

"A cab?" Ryan smirked. "Where were you? A hot date?"

"Something like that," she laughed. "Movie Date with the girls. Right when Leonardo DiCaprio was about to take his shirt off too," she sighed, shaking her head. "Guess I'll have to buy that on DVD. Stupid murderers."

Ryan laughed. "Sure. I'll give you a ride," he told her, grabbing his kit from the ground. "You wanna fill me in?"

"Sure," Tessa nodded her head. "Jessie Carter. 9 years old. Mom smelled the fire and came out screaming. Firemen put it out. I waited for Alexx. Now here we are. My guess? You shoulder probably figure out who did this."

"Nice suggestion," he rolled his eyes, scanning the pile of burnt tree. "Poor kid. You think it's the same guy who killed our guys?"

"I do," Tessa whispered, swallowing back a lump in her throat. She watched as Alexx and another M.E moved the boy into her van and left. "Mind if I help?" she smiled, kneeling besides Ryan who was snapping photos. "I won't touch," she promised.

"Sure," he spoke clearing his throat. "You know. If you graduated. This coulda been you."

"Don't bring that up," she whispered.

"Fine," he replied coldly.

"Have lunch with me? Lemme explain myself to you?" She asked him, turning to look at him at the same time he turned, their eyes meeting as they squatted in the heap of burnt wood.

"Fine," he slowly nodded his head. "I'm supposed to have tomorrow off."

"Okay," she nodded her head. "If Eric doesn't skip his job again, then we'll grab something to eat."

"Okay," he whispered, grabbing a burned comic magazine, and setting it into an evidence bag.

"So. You went from t-shirts to unbuttoned dress shirts with no undershirt?" Tessa asked him.

"This is the only one I own right now. I wanted a new look," he shrugged, glancing at the khaki dress pants he'd pulled from the back of his closet that morning, and the unbuttoned shirt, the khaki blazer had been the only clean clothes he had that morning. 8 days on a shift made you forget what a laundry machine was.

"I like it," she giggled, shoving her shoulder against his, causing him to sway. "Good look on you." _Because I can see some of your chest hair_, she thought.

"Well. Then I might need to go get some decent dress shirts and blazers if you find it so hot."

"I do," she blushed.

"Good," he whispered.

* * *

"Are you serous?" Tessa spoke into her cell phone as she sat outside with Joey.

"I'm sorry. Eric didn't answer his call. I promise. We'll get together okay?"

"I just…" she stopped. "I've been trying to talk to you for days and Eric keeps ruining everything."

"I'm sorry. I'll call you when this case is over."

"Fine," she spoke, hanging up on Ryan. She wasn't mad at him. She just hated Eric at the moment, Ryan convinced himself.

Tessa let out a sigh. Ryan had cancelled on her three times in the past four days. Because Eric hadn't shown up for work in those four days. Ryan was working his ass off, now on his twelfth straight day of work. And the next time Tessa saw Eric she was gonna rip him a new one. It wasn't cool. She was gonna put Eric in his place if Horatio wouldn't. But for now, she'd enjoy her day off with her baby.

"Mommy!" Joey shouted, blowing bubbles in their back yard as he swung on the swing set, giggling when Rex tried to eat them.

"Joey," she sang looking up from the table on her porch, setting her phone down. She was hoping Ryan would call and say Eric had showed up to work. That he was free for the day. Her hopes hadn't been crushed, but it was still upsetting.

"Watch! Watch Rex! He likes the bubbles!" He smiled, blowing some more, giggling when the puppy jumped into mid-air in an attempt to pop a big bubble.

"Wow!" Tessa smiled. Sometimes, she wished she was a kid again. She wished she could have something so simple in her life make her so happy. Like bubbles made Joey happy. "Those are some huge bubbles you're making!"

"I know," Joey giggled. "Mommy, can we go get ice cream?"

"Sure baby," Tessa nodded her head, standing. "We'll get some ice cream. And we can go to Chuck E. Cheese's!"

"Oh! Yeah! Please!"

"Of course," she smiled, standing up. "Go put Rex in his crate babe, while Momma goes to the potty."

"Kay," Joey smiled, jumping off the swing set, hurrying inside the house.

* * *

Ryan accompanied Calleigh towards the elevator, as it came to an open, the one and only Eric Delko stepping off. Ryan, being the smart-ass he was, opened his mouth a smug grin on his face. "Agh. There he is! Nice of you to show up!"

Eric walked towards the two, coming to a halt in front of Ryan, giving him a glare. "What's your problem Wolfe?"

"Must be nice to work on Delko time. Pick cases, show up when yah want," Ryan chided, clearly pissed he had to cover for the Latino repeatedly the past 12 days. He had bailed on Tessa more than once, and he knew she was upset, which in return, angered him as Eric strolled into the lab whenever he felt it.

"I had something I had to take care of," he spoke with attitude towards Ryan, his head turning to Calleigh. "Now, you need any help, Calleigh?" he asked the Southern beauty, dressed in a red shirt, her blonde hair pinned back.

Of course, Ryan wasn't finished with riding Eric, as he opened his mouth to speak once more. "Yo Eric! Too little too late."

Taking a step towards Ryan, his face turning bright red with anger, "If I thought that you could even understand what I'm going through, I'd explain it to you."

Sensing a fist fight about to break out, Calleigh stepped between the two, and on her tip toes, her tone firm and assertive. "Okay. You know what. That is enough. I get it. Eric. We are fine. If we need extra help I will call you." She turned back to Ryan. "You in the elevator with me, we're leaving now." She walked away, Ryan glaring at Eric before following her.

As soon as he stepped into it, he wiped his face. "You always take his side," he snapped, his hand resting on the wall of the elevator.

"Funny he always says the same," she spoke calmly, the elevator doors closing.

XXXXXXXX

Ryan let out a sigh as he came to a halt in the Hummer, his cell-phone pressed to his ear as Tessa's voice-mail spoke on the other line. "Hey it's Tess. You know what to do."

"Tessie," Ryan's voice cracked as he put the car in park and took the keys from the ignition, his elbow resting on the window. "I'm almost done with this case. Call me back. Maybe we can grab some dinner later. I know you live in Lauderdale. But maybe we could meet in between somewhere. Just ugh…call me back. I really wanna talk. It seemed like it was important this morning." He hung up his cell-phone, and opened the door to the car, stepping out. Walking towards the trailer the construction workers had set on the lot, he stopped, and called out the name of the person he was looking for.

No answer.

He slowly opened the door, his hand on the gun on his hip and stepped inside. No one seemed to be there. And if someone was, they were hiding. The first door he'd opened, a shit load of wooden boards fell and landed on him. And as he headed towards the bathroom he heard a quiet creak. He opened the door, a swirl of blonde hair waving in the wind, as he felt something ping into his right eye. Blood pouring from it as he fell to the ground. _Breathe, Wolfe._

Reaching for his phone, he radioed in his location, and hoped someone would find him.

* * *

Four hours later she'd gotten a phone call from Horatio. Ryan was in the hospital. He'd been shot in the eye with a nail gun, and they weren't sure if he'd lose his eye or not. Thankfully, Eric had been close by when Ryan had called it in. Tessa, looking back at a sleeping Joey in his car seat. She couldn't drop him at her brother's on short notice. And it'd take 45 minutes to get into Miami. She'd have to take him with her. She could call her brother on the way and ask him to meet her at the hospital to pick up Joey.

She'd done just that, and now she was holding a sleeping Joey in her arms, chocolate ice cream all over his face as she walked to the receptionist's desk and asked for Ryan Wolfe.

"Tessa," Eric called when he noticed that the woman with the kid indeed had been Tessa. She whirled around, Joey's chin resting on her shoulder, and gave Eric a stern look as she walked towards him.

"Is he okay?" she whispered, stroking Joey's hair when he stirred in his sleep, his head turning away from her. He rubbed his eyes causing Eric to smile.

"Ryan is fine I think. Alexx is in there with him. Who's this little guy?"

"Joey," Tessa smiled. "Spendin' the day with the family. You know. On my day off. The day off Ryan was supposed to have today, Eric."

Eric let out a sigh. "Look, I'm sorry, alright?" he mumbled.

"Yeah," she spoke in a bitter tone. "You should be. He's worked 12 straight days, 6 of those he was covering for you."

"You don't know how bad I feel, Tessa."

"You better hope he's okay," she growled in a low voice, trying not to wake Joey. "You better step it up, Eric. I don't care what's going on. It's your personal life, I totally get that every now and then things get in the way. But you need to learn how to separate work from life. And this is one of those things."

Eric cleared his throat, and looked at Joey. "I'm sure you know all about separating your personal life," he whispered.

"Obviously," she growled. "Because it's not anyone's business at work who this kid is. And I've been able to leave it out of my work. I suggest you do the same."

Eric bit his lip as Horatio walked towards the two. "Miss Owens."

"Hey Lou," she whispered.

"Do you mind if I talk to Eric?"

"Be my guest," she whispered. "I'll go see if they'll let me in to see Ryan." She turned away from the two men, and knocked on the door she knew Ryan was in, a man in scrubs opening it.

"I'm sorry," the man spoke, shaking his head. "Mr. Wolfe already has one person in here."

"Well. I just want to see him real quick," she whispered. "I'll just be a second. Please."

The doctor sighed, but moved out of the way, allowing Tessa to walk in, her arms already feeling like Jell-O from carrying Joey. "Hey," she smiled approaching Ryan's bed. "How's that eye?" she winced in pain for him when she saw the nail sticking from the bridge of his nose and between his eye.

"It's numb," he whispered, smiling at her. "Who's this?"

"Oh him?" she shrugged, looking at Joey. "This is Joey. He's passed out from our day's events. Chuck E. Cheese and ice cream does that to a four year old. Sugar rush they call it."

"Who's kid is he?" Ryan asked.

"Ugh. He's mine," she nodded her head. "That's kind of why I wanted to have lunch with you. But hey. Why not discuss it in front of a bunch of strangers and Alexx, right?"

"Can we talk about it when I'm actually not drugged?"

"Sure. That works too," she nodded her head. "I guess I'll go then so they can get that thing out. Nail isn't a good look for you." She turned to leave but stopped when she felt Ryan's hand tug at her wrist. "What?"

"Thanks for stopping by."

"No problem," she smiled, giving Alexx a wink before leaving. When she came out, she saw Dan pacing the lobby, trying to find his sister. "Hey,' she smiled walking towards him, Dan easily taking Joey and setting him against his chest.

"Everything okay?" he asked Tessa, knowing the worried look on her face. It'd been the same look she wore the day she found out she was pregnant, and the day Joey slipped off the top stair and tumbled all the way to the bottom when he was just 13 months. It was the same look she had given him when he broke his foot playing football on the beach last year. Whoever had been hurt today must have meant a lot to her, that all he knew.

Tessa slowly nodded her head, "It's fine," she promised, running her hands through Joey's hair, and kissing his head. "Take him home for me? I might not be home till late, alright?"

"Alright," Dan nodded his head, leaning down and kissing Tessa. "Be safe. Call me later. Love you."

"Love you too," she smiled, tucking her hair behind her head, and turning towards Horatio and Eric.

"Ryan should be coming out soon," Eric whispered. "He's just fine."

"Okay," Tessa spoke, her head turning towards the door Ryan would be coming through. She waited patiently, a smile coming across her face when she watched Ryan walk through, a small bandage on his eye, the rest black and blue colored.

He noticed her right away and smiled, swaggering over a bit, the pain meds having not worn off fully quite yet. "Hey," he whispered, stopping in front of her.

Tessa closed one eye and stuck her tongue out, her head shaking. "That's gotta hurt."

"Yeah," he nodded his head. "You didn't have to come."

Tessa shrugged. "You need a ride home, right?" she asked, giving him a weak smile. "Plus. We still haven't had that lunch." She grabbed the plastic bag he was holding and started walking towards the exit, Ryan slowly following behind.


	5. What's Your Name?

A/N: Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Don't own!

* * *

Ryan let out a quiet groan as Tessa held his head between her legs and dabbed some cream under his eye, before placing a small bandage over his eye. "I can do this myself."

"Too bad you aren't going to," Tessa told him, letting go of his head. He slowly stood up and sat besides her on the couch. "It should be healed by now," she whispered, grabbing his chin. She glanced at the bruising forming around his nose and under his eye. "It's not turning yellow yet."

Ryan rolled his eyes, knowing he'd need to lie to make her feel a bit more comfortable. She was more worried about his eye than he was. "It feels a lot better," he promised, though it didn't. It burned. He needed stronger meds. But he knew any stronger, and there was a chance he could become addicted.

"Don't lie to me," she spoke, her hands moving from his chin, along his ear, and through his nappy hair. Her fingers twirled a tiny piece in a circle, as she let out a sigh. "When do you get the stitches out?"

"Next week," he informed her, pressing his back against the couch.

"It looks really bad, Ry," she sighed, her fingers still playing with his hair. "I miss your longer hair."

"I know," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "You'd put me to sleep like this."

"Yeah," she laughed. "I think I got a lot of things doing this. Didn't you…didn't you write my physics paper because I played with your hair for three hours straight one night?"

"Yeah," Ryan laughed. "Like it mattered. You dropped out the next week." "Well. I got an A on the paper. Thank you," she laughed.

"Seriously," he whispered, grabbing her hand and moving it. "I need you to stop doing that." He subtly looked down at his jeans zipper, a grin forming on his lips.

"Ryan," she gasped, letting out a laugh, smacking him lightly in the chest.

"What?" He laughed grabbing her hand. "I'm sorry. I can't help it that you've always been able to do that to me."

Tessa blushed a bit, their hands still touching. "I should probably go," she whispered, realizing something dirty was about to happen, that she didn't want to. She didn't want things to become more complicated between the two. She quickly stood up from the couch.

"Wait. Tessie."

"Ryan. I gotta go," she laughed when he grabbed her waist and pushed her back on the couch.

"I wanna talk to you first," he told her, his hand running through her hair this time. "I know I was pretty doped up. But. That kid… that you brought to the hospital last week."

"Joey," Tessa nodded her head. "Yeah?"

"He's mine, isn't he?"

Her breathing hitched when she realized that Ryan had finally put the pieces together. She wasn't quite sure what to say. "Yeah," Tessa whispered, trying to choke back tears. "If you wanna make sure… that's fine I get it. We can have Valera run your guys' DNA. But I know he's yours, Ryan."

"You never told me," he laughed pathetically, standing up. "I had a right to know."

"You think I don't know that?" Tessa asked, startled with his reaction but not surprised by it. "You think every day I don't look at him and wonder when he's gonna ask about you? When I'm gonna have to tell him that he doesn't have a Daddy."

"Except he does! He has a Daddy that never even fucking knew about him!"

Tessa let out a sigh. She didn't want to argue with him. But she also didn't put up with shit. And Ryan was throwing shit at her. She wouldn't tolerate it. She didn't tolerate it with Joey, she didn't tolerate it with her brothers, and she wasn't going to start with Ryan.

"Don't you yell at me like that," Tessa growled. "I did what I did for my son. You can hate me all you want but you don't get to sit here and act like I'm a bad person."

"Oh yeah? Because one parent instead of two is better for a kid, right? Maybe we should let the court decided that one. What do yah think about that?"

Tessa let out a low huff and folded her arms across her chest. "You can hate me all you want. But I swear. To God. If you ever, try and take my baby away from me, you'll regret it," she growled, watching Ryan relax. He knew he was messing with the wrong person. Tessa was calling him on his bluff. They both knew he didn't have the balls to go to court. "So." She continued. "I dare you. I fucking dare you to take me to court."

Ryan shook his head and let out a sigh. He needed to dig himself out of this hole. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"Because. One parent really_ is_ better than two when all they do is fight. I've seen it, Ryan. I grew up with two parents hating each other. My son didn't need that. If I would have told you, you would have felt obligated to be there. You would have dropped out along with me. And I didn't need that on me. I didn't need you hating me because I ruined your life."

"I would have stepped up."

"And resented me," Tessa shook her head. "I hate my job, especially knowing I could have been such an amazing CSI. I wasn't going to do that to you. I wasn't going to be the one who made your life miserable. Because I know you. You would have proposed to me. And we would have hated each other, Ryan."

"Yeah except for the fact I did hate you, Tessa! Because you left me and never told me why! I've had to go more than four years not sure of where you were! Why you left."

"Well now you know," she growled. "Get over it."

"Get over it!" Ryan snapped, raising his eyebrows at her and making fists. "Get over the fact I am a father and I didn't even know it? I'm sorry that I'm a human being and I have feelings, Tess."

Tessa let out a sigh when her phone rang, and pulled it from her back pocket, reading the text, her eyes widening as she opened the message from her eldest brother, Zach's, girlfriend Or ex-girlfriend. She wasn't exactly sure with those two.. "I gotta go. My niece is in the hospital. We'll talk about this later."

"I'll come," Ryan offered.

"No," she shook her head. "It's fine."

"Tessie. I want to. You helped me, lemme help you."

Tessa let out a sigh. "Fine. But you can't judge me tonight." She grabbed her shoes and slipped them on and then grabbed her purse. "Let's go One-Eyed Willy."

"Don't make fun of the eye," Ryan joked, following behind her.

_**XXXXXXXXXX**_

He now knew what she meant by "You can't judge me tonight." They had sat in the Emergency for twenty minutes before Tessa was able to talk with someone who knew where her niece was. And even then, it'd been another forty minutes before they would tell her the room number. And when she found out, he wasn't expecting the two drug addicts sitting in the same room. The man had red hair and green eyes, and judging by the look Tessa gave him, she wasn't sure who he was. He was definitely using drugs though. The woman, just as skinny as the man, had blue eyes and blonde hair. And the little girl, she had dark hair.

"What happened?" Tessa asked, immediately heading to the bed, and sitting in a chair besides it, Ryan standing by the door. He was uncomfortable with the two people in there. They smelled, and they're nails were dirty, he noticed. He didn't want to touch them, or be touched by them.

"It was an accident," the woman spoke. "Tessie. It was an accident."

"What was, Kate!" Tessa growled. "What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do anything," Kate promised. "She…. she fell down the stairs. The railing fell off, Tessie."

"Oh yeah?" Tessa shouted, her hands clenching into fists as she stared her brother's baby mama down. "It just fell off? It just decided it was gonna get off the wall and walk across the street for some ice cream?"

"Fuck you!" The woman shouted, standing up. "We didn't do this!"

"Yeah," Tessa spoke. "I'm sure you didn't do this. Just like you didn't know she had left the house the day she got hit by that car. Maybe if you were clean! Maybe if you cared about your baby!"

Ryan didn't speak. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on. But from what he gathered, the two people there were a drug addicts who couldn't keep tabs on their daughter. "Auntie Tess?" a voice mumbled. Tessa turned to face the little girl lying on the hospital bed, sporting a bruised eye and a broken arm. And he was gonna guess by the oxygen tank in her nose that she had broken ribs.

"Hey Punkin," Tessa smiled, running her hands through the little girls dark hair. . "How do you feel babe?" she asked, running her hand through the girl's hair.

"Bad, Auntie. Can I go home with you?"

"Of course," she whispered, nodding her head. "Joey will love that."

"She's coming home with me!" the woman shouted, standing up.

"The hell she is," Tessa growled. "I already called social workers. They'll decide who she gets to go home with. The crack head mother who is too busy trading sex for coke, or the cop sister-in-law?" she turned towards Ryan. "Did I forget to introduce you? Kate Robins. This is Officer Wolfe."

"I gotta go," the red head suddenly spoke, realizing he was in the same room as two cops. Tessa turned back to her niece. "What happened?"

The little girl let out a tiny giggle at the look on her aunts face. She loved when her aunt was pissed off at people. "RJ hit me…" she whispered.

"Who's RJ? That guy that just left?" This time, the question came from Ryan.

"Baby, you don't need to answer that," the blonde spoke.

"Yes she does," Tessa growled, glaring at the woman. She turned back to her niece. "Where's Daddy?"

"He's in jail," the woman laughed. "He didn't call his baby sister to bail him out this time?"

"You're gonna be wishing I had when there's no one to hold me back from killing you this time."

"Tess," Ryan spoke, standing up. "Cool it, before you do something stupid. You," he turned to the blonde. "Go take a walk."

The woman let out a frustrated huff, but left as she was told. "Auntie, I wanna go home with you. Please lemme! Mommy's boyfriend is scary."

"I know," Tessa whispered, turning back to her niece. "We gotta wait, love. I can get in trouble if I take you without permission. So we gotta figure it out. But don't you worry. Auntie is gonna take Lena home with her." Tessa turned towards Ryan who had made his way further into the room, and had eased up a bit when the two drug addicts had left. "Will you call H for me?" she whispered. "I need to get some things straightened out."

"Yeah," Ryan nodded his head, grabbing his phone. "I can call him. Do you want him to come? Or do you just want him to get a good social worker?"

"I want him to come," she whispered, watching her niece fall asleep. "Lena's got it rough. I need to ask him what I should do."

"Okay," Ryan spoke. "Lemme go out in the hall."

Tessa nodded her head, and grabbed her own phone, dialing the most familiar number. A man answered with an annoyed hello, assuming his baby sister was calling to say she would need him to stay with Joey overnight again. But he was surprised when he realized she hadn't called for that. "Lena is in the hospital again. And Zach's in jail."

_**XXXXXXXX**_

"Lena!" Joey shrieked, hurrying into the hospital room. He ignored Horatio and Ryan sitting in two chairs against the opposite wall and climbed into Tessa's lap, who was sitting besides his cousin's bed. He climbed from her lap, onto the bed and kissed Lena's cheek.

"Hi Joey," Lena whispered sweetly, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, and returning the favor by kissing the top of his head. "Guess what? Auntie is letting me spend the night!"

"Oh!" Joey exclaimed. "Mommy! Lena gets to stay the night? Yay yay yay! I've always wanted Lena to stay! Lena you get to see my doggy! Mommy bought me a dog for my fourth birthday a year ago!"

"It was a month ago," Tessa corrected Joey as he rambled excitedly to his cousin.

"I like doggies," Lena smiled. "What's his name?"

"Rex," Joey stated simply. "He…" Joey startled giggling, grabbing his toes. "If you wiggle them toes! He likes to lick them," he laughed, his tongue sticking out. "And he eated bubbles! He pops them with his wittle nose." Joey grabbed his nose. "Mommy taught me to spell Rex. R-E-X." He used his pinky finger to write each letter in the air. "She taught me to spell cop too. She's a cop. I know my address!"

"What is it?" Tessa asked, tickling Joey's ribcage.

"One, one, three Market Avenue! Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 555-9812."

"Good job," she smiled, running her fingers through his hair.

"My address is nine Carlton Road," Lena spoke. "I can't wait to see your doggy, Rex, Joey," she smiled. "Does he bite?"

"No," Joey shook his head. "He's a good doggy. Mommy taught him to sit already!"

Dan stepped into the room, letting out a sigh, running his hand over his face. "I called Zach's old parole officer," he informed Tessa as he walked towards her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Hasn't heard from him in 9 months."

"Of course," Tessa spoke, biting her lip. "Guys this is my brother, Dan Owens. Dan these are two of my co-works. Lieutenant Caine and CSI Wolfe."

"Nice to meet you," Dan spoke, shaking both men's hands. "I'll sit with these guys if you wanna go talk."

"Uncle Dan!" Lena smiled, as Tessa slipped out of the room with Ryan and Horatio.

"He talks a lot," Ryan observed when they left.

"He's a good kid," Tessa agreed. "I'm worried about Lena though, Lou." She turned back to Horatio. "What do I do if I don't want her with her mom but her dad isn't around?"

"Well," Horatio spoke, contemplating Tessa's options. "You or Dan can file for custody. The judge would rule temporarily in your favor until a hearing, and you and Kate would be investigated. That would give your brother time to get out of jail."

Tessa's eyes widened as she turned back to Ryan. "I think you should do it, Tessie," Ryan spoke. "Lena needs a good mother. And that woman isn't a good mother."

"And I am?"

"Yes," Horatio nodded his head at the same time Ryan spoke.

Tessa let out a sigh of frustration. "Sure. Why not? I always wanted two kids," she rolled her eyes. She let out a loud sigh. "Who ever thought I'd be a single mother of two at 26?" she asked.

"Maybe Dan will file for custody?" Ryan offered.

"Dan teaches Joey what fuck is. He isn't father material," Tessa sighed. She squinted her eyes as a familiar person walked passed them. She was sure it was Eric Delko.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked.

Tessa shook her head and blinked as the man stepped into the elevator. "Nothing. I thought I…saw someone I knew," she laughed trying to shake it off, looking at the wing of the hospital he'd just come from. Oncology wing. That was cancer. "Okay. I'll file for temp. And then when Zach gets outta jail he can take her again, right?"

Horatio nodded his head. "Yes," he promised. "Don't worry, Miss Owens," he spoke calmly, grabbing his cell phone and pressing it to his ear. "We'll sort this out before Lena is allowed to go home."

"Thanks," Tessa sighed in relief, waiting as Horatio called a close friend and social worker for help.

_**XXXXXX**_

Tessa sat on the edge of Frank's desk and watched as he slowly turned his head from the computer to look up at her as she smiled down on him. "What do you want, Owens?" he asked.

"I need you to do me a favor, buddy."

"I'm not your buddy. But keep talking."

"I need you to look up the name Zachary P. Owens," she spoke, letting out a sigh when he nodded his head in agreement and turned to begin to type. He was a slow typer, and it felt like ages as he typed in her brother's name and got a hit.

"Here we are," he spoke, scrolling down and clicking on a name as a file appeared on the screen. "Three B and Es. He's in jail now for 2 years. Negligent homicide during a robbery. Of what, I don't know. This guy related or something?"

"Yeah," Tessa coughed. "He's my brother. Who worked his case, do you know?"

"Ugh lemme see here," Frank mumbled, opening another file. "Well. That would be Jake Berkley."

"Who is that?"

"He's on nights. I'm sure if you go down there and ask him about it, he'll let you know, Owens."

"Thanks Frank," she sighed, jumping off his desk. "Hey. It'd be cool if you didn't mention this to anyone."

"You've got my word," he promised her, standing up to go to a scene.

"Hey have you seen Eric?" Tessa asked.

"He should be upstairs in the lab," Frank shrugged. "I gotta go. I've got a scene to tend to."

"See yah, Frank," Tessa smiled, heading for the elevator. Some held the door when they saw her hurrying towards it, and she mumbled a thanks as she pressed the button to the crime lab. She had gotten off, a determined look on her face. She wanted to speak with Eric. And after about fifteen minutes of wandering the lab, she found him sitting in his office.

"Hey," he waved her in when he heard her knock on the door. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to talk with you," she smiled, sitting across from him. "You know, my dad died of lung cancer?" she asked him.

He slowly shook his head, unsure of where this speech was going. "No. I…I didn't know that."

Tessa nodded her head. "Yeah. when I was 17. He had it for a few years. He was a fighter. But one day…. we just knew he didn't have much time left. He was just so sick. And he was a tough ass," she laughed, resting her elbows on Eric's desk. "He'd lie and say he wasn't in pain, and I know he was smoking marijuana. But one day, he just couldn't move. He couldn't get up. He promised me he didn't hurt, but I know he was lying. You could see it in his eyes. It was scary."

"I'm sorry," Eric shook his head.

"One thing he made me promise was I'd never cry over him. Ever. He sat me down in his bed and he wrapped his arms around me and he told me to be strong for my brothers. And he told me that I wasn't gonna cry. He was gonna watch me. So I didn't. When he died, I didn't cry. When I spoke at his funeral, I didn't cry. And when I skipped school because I was so torn up, I didn't cry. I just…bottled everything inside me. No one knew what I was feeling because I refused to tell them. Some of my friends hadn't even known he died. I wouldn't tell them. Only his close friends knew he had cancer. So no one knew. And no one asked."

Eric nodded his head and opened his mouth to talk. "I'm sorry. I'm not sure what you're telling me this for."

"I saw you leaving the oncology department last night when I was in the hospital with my niece. I just… I wish when I was going through it, someone knew how I felt and would be there for me. So. If you need to talk about anything. I'm here. Because I get it. Even if I don't know exactly how you're feeling. I get it."

Eric nodded his head, and wiped a single tear from his eye. "It's my sister," he whispered.

"Well. It sucks, don't it?" Tessa laughed a bit, shaking her head. "How long as she known?"

"A couple months," he nodded his head. "It's why I wasn't coming to work. And I know I should have. And it's my fault that Wolfe got hurt. But she's not working. I'm taking care of her."

Tessa nodded her head. "How long does she have?"

"We don't know," Eric shook his head. "I've been buying her marijuana, and rolling it for her. And I've been sitting with her when she takes it. If I get tested for drugs one day, it'll come up."

"Well," Tessa sighed. "Stetler gives me a heads up on who he's going to test each month. I'll give you one if he mentions your name."

Eric raised an eyebrow. "Why would he do that?"

"Because," she grinned. "I know some things about that slime ball."

"I won't ask," Eric laughed, shaking his head.

"Good. Because if I told you, I'd have to kill you," she replied. "I should get home. I promised my niece I'd take her to get some new clothes for the summer time. I'll see yah next shift if you decide to show up," she kidded, standing up and heading for the door.

"Hey Tess," Eric called as she opened the door. She turned to face him and nodded her head in indication for him to say what he needed. "Thank you."

"No problem," she smiled, leaving his office.

_**XXXXXXX**_

"Hey," Tessa smiled, opening her front door. Ryan gave her a small smile. "Are you nervous?" she asked him.

"Kind of," he admitted, stepping inside the house.

"Well. He's talkative so be prepared," she laughed. "Joey! Lena! Come on! Let's go!"

Footsteps were heard scurrying upstairs and a few seconds later Lena and Joey stumbled down the steps. "We're hungry!" Joey squealed, hurrying towards Tessa. "Can we get McDonalds? I want a toy!"

"We're going to a place where we can sit down," Tessa informed the two. "Go put Rex in his crate and give him a treat and then we can go, alright?"

"I wanna do it!" Lena jumped in the air, hurrying towards the kitchen to grab the dog. Joey stayed letting out a sigh.

"Girls are annoying," he whined, turning towards Ryan. "What's your name?"

"I'm Ryan," Ryan spoke, bending over to Joey's eye level.

"Hi. I'm Joey. Are you a friend of Mommy's?"

"Yeah," Ryan smiled, "You wanna get some dinner and then go to the zoo?"

"Yeah!" Joey's eyes widened. "I love the zoo! And ice cream. What about ice cream?"

"We can get ice cream," Ryan laughed, standing up when he saw Lena come back into view.

"Alright, let's go!" Tessa smiled, pushing the kids out of the door, Ryan following behind.


	6. Connect

Here's some shirtless hunks followed up with a twist. Next time I have the chance, I will be updating again. Just super tough. Been super busy, I aplogize!

* * *

Tessa opened the locker room door, and headed down the hall, unsure of exactly who she was looking for. She knew his name, but not what he looked like. She heard a man whistling, and turned to bump into a body. "Agh," she mumbled, rubbing her head, her mouth forming in an "O" shape as she glanced at the pale, wet body covered in just a towel from the waist down. His chest hair was ungodly manly, she realized, staring at his abs, color rushing to her face. His hair was sexy.

"Hi," Jake Berkley grinned, watching Tessa blush a bit. "Can I help yah?"

"Ugh…" Tessa cleared her throat. "I'm looking for a Detective Berkley. Someone said they saw him come in here. "

"And you are?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, as he opened his locker and grabbed out a fresh pair of clothes.

"I'm Detective Owens. Ugh. I just need to ask him something. Ugh. Have you seen him?"

"I'm Berkley," Jake smiled, flashing a crooked grin at Tessa. "Owens. That's a familiar name."

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "That'd be because you arrested my brother for negligent homicide three months ago."

"Oh," Jake spoke, nodding his head. "Right. Ugh. We found him with the vic's wallet. Cocked a plea bargain, sang like a bird." He noticed the look on Tessa's face. "No offense, sweetie."

"Was there a murder weapon?" Tessa asked.

"I can't answer your questions, Detective Owens," Jake shook his head.

"Listen here," Tessa spook calmly, pushing him against the locker. "I got a little girl who doesn't have any parents because you locked up her Daddy, and I know for a fact my brother may be a robber. But he'd never kill anyone."

Jake grinned at Tessa's hand pressed against his chest, but nodded his head. "That'd be why it's negligent, doll. It's an accident."

"My brother didn't kill anyone. So. Tell me. Was there a murder weapon?"

"Yes."

"What was it and whose prints were on it?"

"A pocket knife. No prints. Just deer blood."

"It wasn't him, you idiot. If you looked into his priors, you'd know he was arrested for B and E with Kurt Rustling. He's a hunter. You picked up my brother, and he sang because he didn't wanna give up his partner. And almost guaranteed. Nothing Kurt Rustling does is an accident, Berkley."

"Hey," Berkley shook his head. "I just go off what the CSIs tell me."

"Obviously you have lazy CSIs. My guys woulda found this out a long time. And it's your job to look through the priors."

"Well. You're brother's already been acquitted. There's nothing I can do."

"Hand over the case to Horatio." Tessa blushed a bit when Jake glanced down at her hand, and she slowly stepped away, feeling his little soldier slowly saluting against her. She shook her head in disgust. Even Ryan could control himself in that situation, and Ryan was a horn dog.

"The case is closed."

"Not for long," Tessa growled, heading out of the locker room, anger filling her emotions.

* * *

Ryan's eyes widened at the man standing before he and Tessa. His arms were huge. And filled with tattoos. And Tessa knew him. She sat across from the man, and brushed her hair back, while Ryan stood, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I didn't do whatever you guys think I did, Tessa," the man spoke, tapping his fingers against the glass table.

"Please," Tessa snorted. "Kurt. Do you really think that I'm gonna believe anything you tell me? Zach already gave you up. My brother may not be the sharpest tool in the shed. But he knows when he's screwed. And he knows how to protect himself."

Tessa sat back in the chair a grin on her face. "He was gonna be a lawyer, yah know?" she started. "He may not have made it to law school, Kurt. Because you got him hooked on drugs. But he knows his stuff. He knows if he gives up names, he's gonna be cut a deal."

"Then why didn't he do it three months ago, Tessie," Kurt asked, leaning forward against the glass table. "I think you just brought me in here so you could see me again," he grinned, turning his redneck hat backwards, as he chewed on his straw. "You mad I turned you down when we were in high school? I could be Joey's Daddy right now."

"Actually, Kurt," Tessa spoke, pushing a manila folder across the table. "If I remember correctly. In high school you were so desperate to get a prom date you offered me 100 bucks to go with you. I believe I turned you down though."

Kurt let out a snort as if to object, and opened the folder. "Tell me, honey. What am I looking at?"

"You're looking at a pocket knife. I think it's yours Kurt. Do I need to get a warrant to search your place to inventory your knives, or are you gonna admit to murder?"

"I didn't kill that bitch," Kurt shook his head. "That was all your brother, Tessie."

"We'll see about that," Tessa spoke, standing up. "Now, Kurt. Let's remember. I gave you a chance to cooperate, and you chose not to." She turned away and headed out of the room leaving Ryan with the suspect.

"The judge won't grant a search warrant," Horatio spoke when Tessa left the interrogation room. "He doesn't think we should open a case that's already been closed."

"You're kidding," Tessa laughed, shaking her head. "H. My brother didn't do this. Yeah, he's done stupid stuff. But he'd never do that. He'd never kill anyone. That's exactly why he wouldn't have called me, H. Because I would have done something to point the finger to Kurt."

"Don't worry Miss Owens. I've got this under control. If your brother is innocent, I will prove it."

"Yeah. Except now Kurt is walking free," she growled, watching Kurt stand from the chair, and leave the room, a grin on his face.

"See yah around, Miss Owens," Kurt smiled, waving as he left in the opposite direction. Horatio slipped away quietly to give the two a moment alone.

"We'll gett'em Tess," Ryan whispered.

"Yeah sure," she nodded. "I'm just angry."

"Hey. You said Joey asked if I could take him to the pool, right? Why don't we all go? Get out and get some air. Or I can just take Lena and Joey and you can relax."

Tessa rubbed the back of her neck, and slowly nodded her head. "You'd do that for me?" she whispered, biting her lip.

"Yeah," Ryan nodded his head. "I'll take them for a couple hours."

"Oh thanks," she sighed, giving him a smile. "I don't get much time to myself anymore. I'd kill for a moment alone."

"You're welcome," he winked. "Lemme run home and grab my bathing suit and a change of clothes and I'll come pick them up. I'll take them for some McDonalds, and if Joey wants, ice cream," he laughed.

"Oh he'll want it," she smiled. "I'll see yah in a little then," she said, heading for the elevator with him.

* * *

"Ryan!" Joey yelled, plugging his nose as he stood on the deep end of the pool in Tessa's neighborhood. Ryan turned from throwing Lena, and swam to the deep end, knowing immediately Joey wanted to be caught. He wasn't a swimmer, Ryan realized the first time he threw him in the water and Joey had choked on some water. Still a little too young. He probably should have packed the floaties Tessa told him to.

"Alright," Ryan laughed, watching Joey jump into the water, his free hand wrapping around Ryan's neck. Ryan caught Joey and swam towards the shallow end, squinting to look for the time. 6:30. They needed to get home soon. "One more jump, guys. Then we gotta get some dinner before we get you home. Alright?"

"Awww!" Joey whined. "Ten more minutes! Please!"

Ryan let out a sigh. "Ten more minutes," he gave in. "Stay in the shallow end, where you can touch though." He jumped out of the pool, and headed towards the table he had rested his things on, grabbing a towel, and dabbing his face with it.

The blonde sitting in a chair besides him seemed to like the way his muscles flex, he realized when he wrapped the towel around his neck and ran the end of it through his wet hair, his arms raising above his head, his abs clearly visible.

"Hi," the blonde smiled when he caught her staring.

"Hi," he spoke slowly, scrunching his eyebrows in protest.

"Are those your kids? The boy looks just like you."

Ryan laughed. "Ugh. The girl is his cousin. The boy is Tessa Owens."

"I know who his mother is. I've never heard anything about his father though," she smiled sweetly, staring at Ryan's leg muscles.

"Well. I work with Tessa. That's all. Joey! Lena! Come on!" Ryan called, suddenly feeling awkward, he didn't have his shirt with him, he left it in the car, and this girl definitely liked the curves on his stomach defining abs, and the dark chest hair swirling in different directions, down towards his lower stomach and his happy trail.

Joey stepped out of the pool and hurried as quickly as he could towards Ryan without running, Lena following behind.

"I'm hungry," Joey complained, wrapping his arms around himself, shivering.

"Yeah, pal. You're a little cold too," Ryan laughed, grabbing Joey a towel. "How's McDonalds sound?"

"Yummy!" Joey grinned, nodding his head. "I want a cheeseburger and a coke!"

"Me too!" Lena smiled, picking up a towel. Ryan slipped his brown leather flip flops on, and wrapped his towel around his waist, grabbing his car keys.

"Alright punks. Let's go get some grub in our bellies."

"Okay!" Joey giggled, rubbing his belly, hurrying towards the parking lot with Ryan.

Ryan helped Joey into the back seat of his Toyota Prius, and then double checked Lena's seat belt before climbing in the driver's side. "Hey Ryan," Joey spoke as Ryan started the car and put it in reverse.

"Hey Joey," Ryan said, glancing in the rear view mirror as he left the parking lot to go to McDonalds.

"What's a bastard?"

"A what?" Ryan laughed a bit, trying not to show he though it was funny. Tessa warned him Joey liked to say curse words now and again. And she also ordered him not to laugh.

"Bastard. Uncle Dan said I talk a lot. Like my bastard father. I asked Lena. She said a father is a Daddy. I know what a Daddy is. I just wanna know what a bastard is."

"That's a grown up word," Ryan informed Joey. "What's Mommy say about Joey using grown up words?"

"I dunno," Joey shrugged.

"If you say it again, she'll staple your toenails to your eyebrows."

"Oh!" Joey squealed, using his fingers to squeeze his lips shut.

"Oops!" Lena giggled.

"Lena. Did you tell Joey to ask that?" Ryan asked, making a right hand turn.

"No," she giggled.

"Yes!" Joey shrieked. "She told me! But Ryan?"

"What?"

"How come Lena has a Daddy and a mean Mommy? And I have a nice Mommy and that's it? Where's my Daddy?"

Ryan let out a sigh. "I can't answer that, pal. Mommy's gotta."

"Okay," Joey shrugged, turning towards Lena and giving her a smile. "You're lucky I asked Ryan and not Mommy," Joey giggled. "She _would _staple your toenails to your eyebrows."

* * *

Ryan opened the bathroom door and smiled when he saw Tessa lying in a bubble bath, her eyes closed, a glass of wine lying on the ground besides her. "PJs are on my bed," she spoke. "Your elephant is in your room. You each can have one cookie. Just one."

"It's Ryan," he whispered, watching her eyes open.

"Hi," she smiled. "How were they?"

"Good," he promised. "They're already in bed. They're wiped out."

"Thank you for taking them."

"No problem," he smiled, closing the bathroom door behind him. "Joey. He asked why Lena has a Mom and Dad and he doesn't."

"Oh. What did you say?" Tessa asked, nervous to hear his answer as he pulled his purple t-shirt over his head, causing her to gulp at the sight of his stomach. He'd definitely put on weight since she last saw him. But that was a good thing, because it was all muscle.

"That he should ask you." Ryan slipped his shoes off, and headed towards the tub, squatting behind Tessa, his hands running over hers, his chin resting on her shoulder. "He said Dan told him he talked a lot and he must get that from his bastard father."

"Ugh," she groaned. "We should probably tell him, then," she whispered, looking up at Ryan.

"Yeah," he nodded his head, letting out a cough. The slight movement she had made, moved some bubbles just enough so he could see her left breast.

"How was the pool?" she asked, looking back again.

"Good," Ryan promised, running his fingers up and down both of her arms. "There was a girl trying to hit on me," he laughed against her ear, his breath tickling it.

"Ugh," Tessa rolled her eyes. "Blonde? Big boobs?"

"Fake ones," Ryan nodded his head.

"Bailey," Tessa rolled her eyes, grabbing her glass of whine and taking a sip of it. "Did she ask you if you were Joey's father? She asks Dan that every time. She's a nosey little bitch."

"She did," Ryan nodded his head. He lightly pressed a kiss to Tessa's cheek, and then her jaw, causing her to let out a sigh.

"Ryan," she whispered, though she didn't resist when he pressed his lips to her.

"You're so beautiful," he told her, puling away and kissing the hollow of her neck, his hands slipping into the water.

"Ryan," she laughed. "I know I have that affect on you or whatever. But come on. Not with the kids in the house."

"They're dead asleep," he promised, running his hands along her abdomen. "Come on, Tessie. I've gotten good. I can be quiet. And you already lemme see you in this tub. You're just teasing me now."

"Am not," Tessa laughed. "You're teasing me, taking your shirt off and not even getting in here."

"Oh. Would you like me to get in? Because I can," Ryan grinned.

"No," Tessa shook her head, standing up in the tub. She pulled the plug and then grabbed a bath towel, and wrapped it around her body. "I'm done now."

"Ugh," Ryan groaned. "You're such a tease."

"Am not," Tessa giggled, sitting on the counter, allowing the edge of the towel to slip.

"Oh my God," Ryan spoke, his eyes widening. "You so are." He stood up from the floor and headed to the counter, his hands resting on either side of her, a grin on his face. "I bet I can be a better one."

"I bet not," Tessa let out a laugh, pressing her forehead against Ryan's.

"We'll see," Ryan whispered, pressing his lips to hers for a brief second, before running his hands over her chest. She tilt her head back, and closed her eyes, Ryan's groin pressing against her. He didn't need to be un-clothed for her to know he was hard, she could feel it against her inner thigh.

Her hands wrapped around his neck, her legs around his waist. "I clearly win," she grinned, running her fingers through his hair.

"No," he laughed, shaking her hands free. "You brat. You don't get to do that!"

"I think I do," she smiled, nodding her head innocently. She grew quiet, waiting as Ryan brushed her hair from her face, tucking it behind her ears.

"I like your long hair," he informed her, kissing her again.

"You like a lotta things about me," she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," he smiled, "I do." He wiggled his eyebrows and picked her up. "You're bed is one of those things."

"You would," she rolled her eyes, giggling when he set her on the bed.

* * *

She let out a loud cough, rolling onto her back, her eyes opening, burning with smoke. "Oh my God," she spoke, standing up. "Ryan," she shouted. "Ryan!"

"Tessa!" she heard Ryan yell. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and used it to cover her mouth.

"The kids," she coughed, hurrying for the door.

"I'll get them," Ryan promised. "Open the window, and try to climb out You're gonna have to catch Joey and Lena if we're gonna have to jump."

Tessa nodded her head, and immediately grabbed the mattress from her bed and dragged it to the window, looking out towards the front yard, opening the window and breaking the screen loose. She forced the mattress out of the window, and climbed onto the roof, scooting to the edge, looking back, she saw Ryan hurry out of her bedroom. She didn't like the fact she was leaving without looking for Joey. But she knew Ryan was right. She needed to be down below so she could break the fall for him.

She scooted towards the edge of the roof, and hung her feet over, attempting to line herself up with the mattress she'd thrown.

When she jumped, she felt the pain shoot through her feet, but shook it off, and tried to wait patiently for Ryan to come in sight.

"Tessa!" Ryan shouted, climbing out with Lena. "I can't find Joey!"

"What," Tess chocked, tears threatening to fall. "I need to go back in!"

"The stairs gave out!" Ryan called, helping Lena jump. "I'm gonna look again. He wasn't in his room!"

"No!" Tessa screamed. "No! He's gotta be in there!"

"I can't find him!" Ryan screamed, turning around, letting out a deep breath. "Joey!"

"He's with the dog!" Tessa shouted. "In the living room! I'm gonna break a window!"

"No, Tessa! I'll find him."

"No," she cried, as Ryan jumped from the window, and landed on his side, letting out a groan. "Tess. Stay with Lena."

"No!" Tess cried. "I need to get him." Ryan tried to stand to grab her arm, but before he could, she had already taken off towards the back of the house, and was breaking a window with a plant, climbing in, and ignoring the cuts on her hands and knees from the glass. "Joey!" She screamed. "Joey!" She hurried towards the dog's kennel, her heart skipping a beat at the sight of Rex curled in a ball besides a passed out Joey.

"Baby," she whispered, squatting besides him. "Joey." She wrapped his arms around her neck, and scooped him up in her arms, hurrying towards the back window. It was already covered with smoke. There was no way she was getting out.

* * *

Ryan held Lena against his side, trying helplessly to keep her calm as a fire truck approached the scene. As it came to a halt, he watched half a dozen men come out of the truck, two hurrying towards a near by fire hydrant. "My girlfriend and my son are in there, still!" Ryan shouted.

"We're going in," a man dressed in fire gear promised. "Sit still sir. She's gonna be fine. Buck! We got a woman and a little boy! Get in and get out safely! Bring an extra oxygen tank in case they need it!" He turned towards Lena and gave her a smile. "Don't worry sweetie. You're gonna be safe. Why don't you come with me? We're gonna give you a check up, okay?"

Lena glanced at Ryan who nodded his head for her to go with the man. She turned back to the firefighter, and took his hand, both heading towards the truck.

"Tess," Ryan whispered when he saw her carrying Joey in her arms.

"He's not breathing," Tessa cried, setting him on the grass. "He's not breathing. Ryan. He's not breathing."

"Okay," Ryan nodded his head, kneeling besides Tessa. "Breathe. I got this, Tessie. He's gonna be okay."

"Joey," she whispered, sniffling as Ryan pressed his hands against Joey's chest to perform CPR.


	7. Serious, or Not

**Disclaimer: Don' own. Enjoy though.**

* * *

Tessa let out a sigh of relief as Joey's doctor stopped her in the hall and assured her he'd be out of the hospital within the next hour. That'd been eight hours ago. Now, it was one in the afternoon. Lena and Joey where staying what Uncle Joey for the day while Tessa stood in front of her burnt down house. Only the frame had stayed in place, and even that was tarnished. She shook her head as she stood next to Ryan, hesitating to cross under the crime scene tape to gather the belongings that could be salvaged from the fire.

"Looks like the serial case has hit home," a familiar voice broke Tessa from her thoughts. She turned to see Erica Sikes along with her cameraman approach her home.

"Get away from my home," Tessa growled.

"Do you have any comments about the case, CSI Wolfe? Detective Owens? Any on your child, Detective?" Erica smiled at Tessa, then turned to glance at Ryan. "I always knew you had to have been the father."

"I gotta comment alright," Tessa growled, lunging forward at the news reporter.

"Tessie," Ryan sighed grabbing her arms and pulling her towards his chest. "Come on. She's not worth your badge."

"Doesn't mean I'd still like to beat her senseless," Tessa growled, but didn't fight Ryan's grip. When he let go of her, she stood tall. "Get off my property."

"The side walk is owned by the public," Erica smirked.

"Ugh," Tessa growled, spitting right on Erica's microphone when she pushed it into her face.

"Hey!" Erica whined, watching Tessa and Ryan crawl under the tape

"I hate her," Tessa informed Ryan, coming to a halt at her burnt down house.

"I know you do," Ryan nodded his head. "Let's figure out if anything was saved in the fire."

"Yeah," Tessa nodded her head, taking a step into the burnt ashes that had once been her home. She let out a quiet sigh. She was sure nothing made it out. And she was positive she hadn't had Joey's first picture anymore. "Everything's gone she whispered, pressing her hand to her mouth. "It's all gone."

"Okay," Ryan nodded his head. Let's make a list of things we don't have. For the insurance company."

"Everything," Tessa shook her head, making her way towards the back of the mess. "God, Ryan. My safe. I need to find it. It's got all of Joey's records in it. His birth certificate. His pictures. Ryan. The letters my father and I wrote when he was in the Marines." She shook her head, and bit her lip, tears falling from her eyes. She didn't want Ryan to see her upset, so she turned her back from him and crossed her arms.

"Hey," Ryan whispered, grabbing her arm. "Tessie. Shhh. Don't cry, okay? I hate it when you cry."

"Too late," she whispered. Ryan wrapped his arms around her.

"We'll fix it, okay?" he whispered, running his hand through her hair. "You and Joey and even Lena. You…" Ryan let out a deep breath. "You can stay with me until they re-build your house."

"Ryan," she sighed. "I can't do that."

"Sure you can," he promised her. "I only have one spare room. But they can share for right now and I can sleep on the couch. It pulls out. "

"Thanks," she smiled. "We'll probably stay with my brother though." She shrugged away from him and turned towards the ashes. "It's gotta be here somewhere, right?"

"I'll look over here," he sighed, walking in the other direction. He leaned down when he saw a piece of paper, and slowly picked it up. He found it wasn't a piece of paper, but a burned photo of Tessa and his son, and slipped it into his back pocket.

He turned around and saw Tessa sitting in a pile of ash, her head in her hands, and immediately stood up. "Hey," he whispered.

"I'm fine," she sighed. "I just need to find that safe." She stood up.

"I doubt it," Ryan shrugged. "We're just tired. We're not looking well enough. You should get some rest."

Tessa slowly nodded her head. She turned around to see her close friend yelling her name from the other side of the yellow tape, eagerly waving. "Tessa!" Courtney Downs shouted.

"Who is that?" Ryan asked, as the two of them headed towards Frank.

"Hey," Tessa smiled. "She's good, Frank."

Rank let out a sigh, but lifted the tape for Courtney and watched her crawl under it. She immediately wrapped her arms around Tessa. "God are you okay? Where's Joey? Is he alright? I just found out or I would have been here sooner!"

"Well. I'd have called besides the fact my phone was melted in the fire…" Tessa mumbled, pulling away from Courtney. "We're fine though," she promised. "Joey and Lena are at my brother's."

"Good!" Courtney exclaimed, her blue eyes widening. "God I was worried sick about you!"

"We're fine," Tessa promised again.

"So who is that guy back there?" Courtney asked as they slowly approached the burnt down house.

"Frank," Tessa shrugged.

"He's cute!"

"Gross!" Tessa giggled, as Ryan shook his head in disgust. "Ryan this is my friend, Courtney Downs. Court this is Ryan Wolfe."

"Oh!" Courtney grinned, shaking hands with Ryan. "_You're_ Ryan." Tessa elbowed her in her rib cage as she walked ahead of the two.

* * *

"Something isn't right," Eric shook his head, observing the pictures lying on the evidence table. Calleigh had photographed Tessa's home after it was burned down, but Eric wasn't finding them helpful. Nothing was suggesting arson, yet they all were so sure that had been the cause. No one knew where Tessa's safe was. It should have been safe during the fire. She had bought one of those indestructible ones in fear something like this would happen. But they couldn't find it, and Tessa was pissed.

"Maybe…" Calleigh started but let out a sigh. "Maybe it's under everything."

"Maybe someone stole it," Eric suggested. "Maybe whoever started the fire was in the house before."

"Calleigh's eyes widened. "That would be… sickening."

"It's possible though," Eric shrugged, sitting up. He watched Ryan and Tessa walk into the lab they were in. "Well. If it's not the infamous Tessa. Heard you spit in Erica's face today," he grinned.

Tessa rolled her eyes, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail, her brown eyes weren't glistening like they usually did. "I did not. Just in her microphone. Have you guys found my safe yet?"

"No," Eric shook his head. "We've got no clue where it could be, Tess."

Tessa let out a sigh. "Did he leave anything? I have a hunch it was Kurt."

"Tessa, we can't talk about it," Calleigh sighed sympathetically. "I apologize."

"It's fine," Tessa nodded her head. "I'm gonna go pick up the kids anyway." She slowly turned towards Ryan, and gave him a small smile. "I'll see yah later."

"Alright," Ryan nodded his head. "Tell Joey that I'll take him swimming later."

Tessa nodded her head and turned back to Eric and Calleigh. "See yah," she smiled, waving before she left.

"Damn Wolfe," Eric chuckled, shaking his head. "She's got you wrapped around her finger."

Ryan let out a laugh. "We're just friends."

"Which is why you offered to take her kid swimming?"

"Well," Ryan started, lowering his voice, and rocking his body as he scratched his eyebrow. "Sometimes a kid needs a father figure when he doesn't have one. You should understand that."

"I do," Eric nodded his head, suddenly feeling like an asshole. Calleigh cleared her throat to gather everyone's attention.

"We have one of our own going without a home right now. Let's not fight and help her out, okay, guys?" Calleigh asked, pulling her blonde hair back into a ponytail. "Let's get this guy behind bars before he does anymore harm than he's already accomplished."

Ryan slowly nodded his head and grabbed a pair of gloves. "How can I help?" he asked, tugging them onto his hands.

* * *

Ryan unwillingly came to Tessa's brother's home, scared shitless of the older brother. Dan Owens had muscle under his shirt. Not that he had worn a shirt when Ryan arrived. Dan had opened the door in a pair of basketball shorts, a towel around his neck, but no shirt in sight. He hadn't let Ryan in without giving him the stink eye, and then shaking his hand with a shockingly painful grip. And then he had left all together, mumbling something about being late for his girlfriend.

Ryan had glanced around the clean home, knowing instantly Tessa had cleaned it the second she stepped foot in the house, and Ryan wasn't sure where exactly she was. He headed up the steps however, guessing the bedrooms were up there. "Tess?" He called quietly, opening the first door he saw. Luckily it'd been the guest room where Tessa was staying. He stepped in and climbed into the bed where she was lying in fetal position, her eyes closed.

"Hey," she whispered, her eyes still closed.

"Where's the kids?"

"The neighbor's, swimming. Joey was asking for you. He really likes you." "I know," Ryan nodded his head. "I can go over there," he offered. "I brought my bathing suit."

"Nah," Tessa shook her head, opening her eyes. "I want you to stay with me, right here in bed."

Ryan gave her a grin. "I can do that," he smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "How you dealing?"

"I'm dealing," she shrugged. "It's scary. Did you get any leads? Anything?"

Ryan shook his head. "H won't let me work it."

Tessa let out a sigh. "I need to know something."

"Sure."

"Are we…" she stared. "Was last night a one time thing or are we a real thing?"

Ryan didn't answer right away. "I don't know," he admitted.

"I don't either," she nodded her head. "I don't want us to think it's serious, and wind up hurting Joey because it isn't."

Ryan nodded his head. "I want it to be serious," he admitted.

"Okay," she whispered, closing her eyes again. "That's all I wanted to hear," she informed him, snuggling into him and closing her eyes for a quick nap before the kids came home.


	8. New Yorkers

**A/N: So this was really short. I'm sorry. But it's been forever since I posted any of anything on here and I felt super bad. So I'm posting. Sorry if it's poop. But It's not, because I like it. I'm bringing in some New Yorkers. yay.**

**Disclaimer: I own Kylie and Tessa. Nik Nak17 owns Niki Foxx, check her shizz out! But I don't own CSI or any of that. None.

* * *

**

Tessa let out a yawn at her desk, her hand pressing against her mouth as she did so. She brushed back her hair and clicked on her internet before glancing at the time. She still had an hour left on her shift, and she didn't have a case at the moment. Three weeks had gone by since her house had burned to a crisp, and she was devastated with the fact the CSIs hadn't found a lead. She wanted someone to pay for what they did to her. She was in debt now, because she had to start over.

Ryan had been there the night she went to the nearest convenient store, and watched her stand in front of the aisle, tears streaming down her face at the realization that Joey and Lena didn't have a pair of shoes for school tomorrow. Or a book bag, they didn't even have clean underwear. She had gone to work in a pair of sweatpants and a workout tank-top, with running shoes because it was the only thing she had at her brothers, and she had kept a smile on her face even though everyone knew she was breaking on the inside.

Sure, insurance would buy her a new house, but it couldn't give her all of her shoes back, or her clothes. The necessities she needed in life she'd have to buy all over again. She let out a sigh, and picked up her work phone, dialing the extension she had become so familiar with since her first day in the Miami Dade Police Department.

"Miss Owens," a voice spoke over the phone.

"Hi H," Tessa blushed. "Anything on my house yet?"

"Nothing," Horatio told her. "As soon as I do, you will know."

Tessa let out a sigh. "I know. I just…"

"I know. Eric and Calleigh are looking into it twice a week. Nothing new has popped up though. When it does, you will know."

Tessa slowly nodded her head and let out a sigh. "Thanks anyway," she spoke, hanging up the phone. She turned back to her computer and checked her mail, a smile on her face when she heard Ryan approach her desk. "Hey," she smiled, shutting down her computer, and turning around in her computer chair.

Ryan gave her a smile, and sat in the empty chair besides her. "You ready?"

"Yeah," she nodded her head. "Joey wants to know if you'll stay the night." She stood from her chair and grabbed her jacket, before turning back to Ryan. "Lena's dad is coming home next week."

"Great," Ryan smiled. "But I was thinking the three of you could come to my place tonight," Ryan blushed, giving her an innocent smile. "I'm sure Dan doesn't like me hanging around his place so much."

Tessa shrugged. "Sure we can. But Dan doesn't really have a say in who I'm with. He'll get over it.'

"Tessa," Ryan laughed nervously, "Your brother scares the crap outta me. He's like ten times bigger than me."

Tessa gave him a grin. "It's the Owens strength," she smirked. "I'm pretty strong for a girl too. We're disciplined. We work hard."

"Exactly," Ryan laughed. "And Dan is a beast. He intimidates me."

"Whatever," Tessa rolled her eyes. "Yah wuss." She lightly punched Ryan in the arm, and headed towards the exit, Ryan following close behind, a grin on his face.

* * *

Joey jumped of the couch in Ryan's living room, landing on the pile of pillows he and Lena had created on the floor, and let out a giggle when Ryan picked him up and threw him against the couch.

"Brush your teeth," Tessa ordered the kids, not affected by the groans as they hurried to the bathroom. When the kids were out of sight, she wrapped her arms around Ryan's waist from behind, and pressed the side of her head against his back. "We should tell him," she whispered. "Tomorrow."

"Okay," Ryan agreed instead of arguing with the mother of his child. If it were up to him, Joey would have known the day at the pool when he asked him why he didn't have a father. But it was up to Tessa to decide those things, not him. He couldn't help but smile when he felt her lips press against the back of his neck, her hands squeezing tighter around his waist.

Ryan turned to face her, giving her an innocent smile. "We need real date," he suggested, giving her a grin. "Just you and me."

"And who would watch Joey and Lena?" Tessa asked, raising her eyebrows. "You really think my brother would watch them so we could go out?"

"Well, we can find a babysitter. Come on, Tessie. I wanna take you out. You deserve it."

Tessa let out a dramatic sigh, "Fine," she mumbled. She let out a yawn, and turned towards the hall. "I should go check on them. Make sure they're really brushing their teeth."

* * *

Mac Taylor sat at his desk, staring cautiously at the report Kylie Flack had given him. The two girls standing before him were determined to catch the person who burnt down a CSI's home, even if it wasn't someone they knew. Cops stood together, no matter what. Niki Foxx had been on call to a fire almost three months ago, and Kylie had processed the scene. The case had been a dead end. The one suspect Kylie and Niki had, they couldn't prove was responsible for the fire. But now that these same fires were happening in Miami, Kylie was certain they could catch the killer.

Mac glanced up from the report, and did his best not to grin at the two eager girls standing before him, their fingers crossed behind their backs. They were determined not to let a case turn cold, and he knew that they could find the killer, if he just gave the two permission to go to Miami and work with the lab there. But he also knew, he couldn't trust those two alone in a city like Miami.

Kylie watched Mac nod his head, causing her to smile. "Okay," Mac finally agreed. "Let me speak with the head of the lab there, and see what he says. There is one condition."

"What condition?" Kylie asked eagerly, her blue eyes sparkling with excitement at the fact she was about to go to Miami with her best friend.

"I come along," he informed them, picking up his office phone.

"Aw Mac!" Niki whined.

"Who'll run the lab while you're gone, Mac?" Kylie asked innocently.

"Don't worry about that, ladies. Get back to work," he ordered them. He watched the two sulk out of his office, while he waited patiently for Horatio Caine to answer his phone.

* * *

Tess came to a halt in the middle of the lab when she saw three strangers with guns standing with Ryan and Horatio. She slowly approached the group, a weary look on her face. "Are you Tessa?" the short woman with long dark hair asked. Both the women were shorter than Tessa, but both seemed overly confident.

"Who wants to know?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she glanced from Kylie to Niki, to Mac, and then to Horatio and Ryan.

"I'm Detective Kylie Flack. These are Detectives Mac Taylor and Niki Foxx," Kylie explained, holding her hand out for Tessa. "We believe we have a case connecting to your house fire."

Tessa let out a snort. "Right," she laughed. "I'll believe that."

"Hey!" Niki shouted, stepping into the taller woman's space. "We just flew all the way out here to help you, because Kylie's got the biggest damned heart in the world, and that's how you treat us? When we find out who did this and you're sitting here picking your nose, I want my apology _and_ my thanks!"

Kylie rolled her eyes, and grabbed Niki's shoulder. "Don't mind her. She's moody."

"Look, Tessa. You don't have to believe that we're here to help, but we are," Mac spoke, ignoring his teammates who were now occupying their time by fighting with each other.

"I appreciate the help, sir," Tessa started. "But I highly doubt this case from New York is linked to these in Miami."

"Oh my God," Niki groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Niki," Kylie scolded her friend, smacking her in the chest. "Be nice, God."

"Maybe she should be nice and then I will!" Niki growled.

"Her house is burnt down, she has a right to be pissed!"

"Doesn't mean she can be bitchy."

"When aren't you bitchy?" Kylie asked, rolling her eyes.

"That's different."

"Is not."

"Girls," Mac sighed. "Go into the conference room and wait for me, please," he ordered, watching the girls hurry away.

"That girl's got some attitude," Tessa informed Mac.

"She does," Mac agreed. "It'd be why she's one of the best detectives I've every employed. That attitude gets me confessions."

Tessa slowly nodded her head. "Listen Detective Taylor. The man we're dealing with isn't just some guy. He's got a grudge towards me. He's a serial killer. He's not just lighting things on fire for fun."

"We had a suspect but could never prove it was him. Does Kurt Rustling ring a bell?"

Tessa turned to look at Ryan who gave her a smile and raised his eyebrow, before she turned back to Mac. "He's our suspect on this too," she nodded her head.

"Great. So we can help," Mac said smugly, though he didn't grin. He was proud of Kylie and Niki for making a connection, and he was glad that he followed through with their hunch. He was glad he could trust his people.


	9. Daddies

A/N: I'm back! I'm sorry if you all hate me! But I have some good stuff coming!

Disclaimer: I wish i owned Ryan.

* * *

Ryan climbed out of his car, and made his way through the grass, passing headstones of the dead. He stopped when he reached Tessa, standing over a small headstone, three rotted roses lying beside them. He didn't speak, instead he watched her, wipe a few tears from her face in embarrassment, and shake her head. He glanced at the headstone, while she tried her best not to fall apart in front of him.

_Sergeant Joseph Daniel Owens. 04/14/1955- 10/04/2004_

_Dedicated soldier, devoted leader, caring father. _

It suddenly clicked in his head why she named her son Joey. Why she was there in the first place. "I miss him," she whispered. "It's been five years, and I still think about him every day. He used to make me hot tea on days like these. And he'd tell me how successful I was gonna be. How I was gonna be takin' care of him when he got old. And then he got sick," she whispered, shaking her head. "It was so bad. He was so sick he didn't even know I was pregnant. It was horrible. He was supposed to die in combat. With his soldiers. Not from cancer."

Ryan wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "He'd be proud of you."

"No," she shook her head. "He'd be disappointed. He'd want to know what I was thinking having a baby by myself. He would have made me tell you, Ryan. He would've…he would have made sure Kurt was behind bars by now. He would have told me the fire was some sort of sign from God, and that I'm strong and I can fight through it. I can fix it," tears began to fall more rapidly from her face, and she didn't try to stop them. "I can't fix it. I can't do anything about it! I'm not strong. I don't wanna be strong. I just want something good to happen to me for once!" she cried. "I wanna be happy!"

"Hey!" Ryan shouted, holding her tighter against his chest. "That's not true! You can too make this better! You are a strong person, Tessa. One of the strongest people I've ever met. And you. You have the most amazing gift in the world. You have Joey. The greatest kid ever. God gave him to us. He's ours. And I don't care what kind of shitty mood you're in, you always have him. So don't you dare say you're not happy. Because that kid brightens up your day and time. I've seen it."

"I love Joey," Tessa shook her head. She pulled herself away from Ryan, her brown eyes filled with tears as she looked into his hazel ones. "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying I'm not happy, Ryan. My life is in pieces. It always has been. And I just feel like I'm running around picking up one piece after another, and right when I think I've cleaned it all up something else comes. I made the best out of my pregnancy. Out of my father's death. I made a life. And now, it's all just collapsing around me. It's like I can't ever win."

"Let's get married," Ryan whispered, glancing at the roses lying on the ground. "Marry me, Tessa."

"What!" She laughed. "Are you crazy? Ryan. We're like not even dating."

"So?" Ryan asked, shrugging his wide, bulky shoulders. "Tessa. We have a son together. I don't just love you, Tessie. I'm_ in_ love with you. I wanna be with you."

Tessa paused for a second, turning back to her father's grave. She let out a loud sigh, and turned back to Ryan, crossing her arms over her chest. "I love you too," she admitted. "But I'm not marrying you."

"Tessie."

"Not until you get a ring," she informed him. "And do this far, far away from a cemetery, Wolfe."

"Deal," he chuckled nervously as he scratched his eyebrow. He was relieved she said yes, and he was even more excited to know that they were on the same page with their relationship.

"I'm hungry," she stated. "Let's get Joey and go out for breakfast." She turned back to face the grave, and mumbled a short goodbye before grabbing Ryan's hand to pull him away from the cemetery.

* * *

Kylie had been surprised when she saw Tessa step into the lab, a smile on her face. She was actually going to cooperate with her, Mac, and Niki today. She wasn't trying to give them trouble. The first week that the New York Lab had been in Miami she had given the cold shoulder. She didn't want outside help. She wanted to figure it out on her own.

"So Kurt knew my brother," Tessa explained. "They did some petty crimes together, and it escalated. I won't sit here and pretend like Zach is an angel. But he would never murder anyone. And the only thing I can think of why Kurt would do anything like this is because he's jealous or mad that I was always there to bail my brother out and not him."

The three listened patiently as she explained her history with the man behind the arsons. How she refused to date him numerous times, and how she'd woken up one morning to him trying to rape her, and how she'd kicked his ass a million times every time she found out Zach had been involved in a crime with him.

"I had a safe with all of Joey's things. His birth certificate, and what not. It went missing after the fire. I think he was in the house before."

Ryan opened the door to the conference room, causing Kylie to blush a bit. This didn't go unnoticed by Tessa. "Hey," Ryan said, stepping into the room. "Zach is being released in an hour. He wants to see Lena."

"Okay," Tessa nodded her head. "Ugh I'll take him to Dan's then."

"Do you mind if I question him first?" Kylie asked.

"Not at all," Tessa shook her head. "That's fine. Just ugh. Do you mind giving us a few minutes?"

"I'll ride over with you, Tessa," Niki offered. "Ryan and Kylie can go together."

Tessa glanced at Kylie who turned a shade of pink, while Ryan cleared his throat uncomfortably.

* * *

Niki sat in the passenger's seat asking questions about Tessa's personal life that she didn't really feel like answering. "Look," Tessa finally said. "I don't wanna come off as a bitch, because I do get that a lot. And I know you can be a tough person to get a long with also. But what the hell is going on with your girl and Ryan?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Niki replied coolly, giving Tessa a smug grin that informed Tessa she wouldn't spill her friend's secrets.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I see the way she keeps looking at him. She seems like an amazing girl. But tell her he's off limits."

"To you?" Niki asked, letting out a snort. "You guys barely even talk. How long have you been dating? Like a week?"

"He's the father of my son." Tessa growled. "So guess what. He's off limits." She slammed on the breaks at a red light.

"Kylie's way hotter than you any way."

"I don't care. I have a child with him, and he's mine. Either you tell her to stay away or I will. And I don't wanna make the poor girl cry."

Niki bit her tongue. She didn't want Kylie in tears over Ryan either. "She's still hotter," she sang under her breath, just loud enough for Tessa to hear.

* * *

Ryan glanced at Kylie who was clearly too nervous to speak to him. "How's New York?" he finally asked her.

"Not as nice as here," she informed him. "So ugh. Tessa?"

"Yeah?"

"Well. Did you… I mean I guess I should have expected you to date after us or whatever."

"Yeah," Ryan cleared his throat. "Listen Kylie. I liked you. I did. But you were only here for one case. And we hooked up. And I really liked that you came and saw me after that, and the visit I had was nice too. But. It's just. I would never make you move here to be with me. And you shouldn't make me move there. It was just too complicated, and too expensive."

"Yeah," Kylie laughed sadly. "You moved on. I get it."

"Not really," Ryan sighed. "Tessa. I knew her back from college. She's… she is the mother of my son."

"What," Kylie laughed. "You have a son?"

"Yes."

"Ehw!" she giggled. "Oh my God. Wow. Thank you."

"For...?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Saving me the trouble," she laughed. "I only liked you cause I thought you were some type of bad guy. Joke's on me, Mr. Mom."

* * *

"Mommy!" Joey screeched when Ryan opened his front door for Tessa to come in.

"Hey Monkey!" Tessa smiled, picking her son up and kissing his cheek. She set him down on the ground. "You're getting so big, soon Mommy won't be able to carry you."

"No!" Joey whined. "Ryan said that Mom-Mom Terry wants me to spend the night. Can I go to Mom-Mom Terry's?"

"Of course you can," Tessa nodded her head. "First, me and Ryan wanna talk to you, okay?"

"Why?" Joey asked frantically. "Did I do a bad thing?"

"Of course you didn't," Ryan laughed. He picked Joey up by his armpits and carried him to the kitchen table. "Sit down you little punk." Joey sat on his knees at the table and let out a giggle.

"What's going on you guys?" He asked.

"Remember when you asked why Lena had a Mommy and a Daddy?" Tessa started.

"Yeah," Joey nodded his head. "You're my Mommy. And Ryan's like Uncle Dan. Cept he isn't my Uncle."

"Right baby," Tessa nodded. "Ryan's not an Uncle. See sometimes. Mommy's and Daddy's…" Tessa stopped and glanced at Ryan for help.

"Sometimes Mommy's forget to tell Daddy's things," Ryan started. "When you grow up you'll learn that. But sometimes, a Mommy does something that's best for their baby. And your Mommy thought it was best to wait to tell your Daddy about you. Until he was grown up and a little more responsible. Do you know what responsible means?"

Joey nodded his head. "I'm sponsible when I feed Rex."

"Good," Tessa smiled. "So I wanted to wait until your Daddy was responsible. Because he didn't feed doggies when I knew him."

"Okay," Joey started. "So who's my Daddy then?"

"Well. Ryan is," Tessa breathed. "Ryan is your Daddy."

Joey's eyes widened as he glanced from Ryan to his mother. "Oh my God!" he cheered. "I have a Daddy! Ryan, do I get to call you Daddy?"

"Only if you want," Ryan smiled, letting out a laugh as Joey jumped off his seat and into Ryan's lap.

"I love you!"

"I love you too," Ryan smiled. "Now go get ready for Mom-Mom Terry's."

* * *

Tessa opened the door to the interrogation room where her niece was coloring pictures with Horatio. She glanced up, a smile on her face as she climbed down from the spinny chair. "Daddy!" she cheered hurrying towards Zach Owens. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her head buried into his stomach.

"Hi babe," Zach replied, picking his daughter up. Unlike Dan and Tessa, Zach had his mother's blonde hair and blue eyes, and he was significantly chubbier than his brother. "You ready to go home?"

"Yeah," she giggled. "I love you, Aunt Tess. But I wanna go home."

Tessa gave her a smile and leaned down to kiss her. "I'll see you later, boog."

Zach turned to Tessa. "Thanks for everything, T. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Tessa nodded her head. "Just do me a favor and stay away from Kurt." Zach nodded his head. "I mean it, Zach. I'll take her from you."

"I swear, T. I swear."

"Alright. I'll see you at Dan's next week for Thanksgiving."

"Yeah."

When Zach left, Tessa turned back to Horatio. "Thanks Lou," she sighed.

"Don't thank me, Miss Owens. I just did my job. And so did you. Kylie and Niki are close to closing the case with Kurt."

Tessa rolled her eyes. "Good the sooner this is over with the sooner we can go back to how things were."

"Has your insurance company given you a value on your home yet?"

Tessa shook her head. "Nope. Ryan's letting me stay with him though."

Horatio nodded his head. "Good luck with everything."

Ryan entered the room, causing H to leave. "Hey," Ryan smiled. "So Lena's with her dad now? And Joe's with your mom."

Tessa gave him a smile. "I have never not had any kids. Not for five years."

Ryan stepped closer towards her and grabbed her hands. "So I'm gonna call my parents tonight. I haven't told them anything about Joey. And since he knows, I think I should tell them."

Tess nodded her head. "Yeah," she smiled giving him a kiss. "That's a good idea. Your mom will be excited."

"Not really," he laughed. "She'll be upset I'm not coming for the holidays."

"Oh," she whispered. "Well we can fly them out here. I'm sure they'd wanna meet him and everything. Or whatever. I don't know."

"We'll see," Ryan nodded his head. "You wanna go home now?"

"Yes."

"And we can go somewhere nice for dinner."

"No," she shook her head, resting her hands against his chest. "I wanna stay in."

"I can make that happen."

"Yeah?" she laughed, following him out of the lab.

* * *

It feels good to be back! Also, I'm going to try and post a Thanksgiving chapter either tomorrow or Friday! Who doesn't love Turkey Day?


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